One Thousand 
Questions in 
California Agricul- 
ture Answered 




Class <:) SCi '"f 
GopyriglitN? 



COPWIGHT DEPOSIT. 



One Thousand Questions 



in 



California Agriculture 

Answered 



By EfJ. WICKSON 

Professor of Horticulture, University of California; 
Editor of Pacific Rural Press; Author of 
"California Fruits and How to Grow Them" and 
"California Vegetables in Garden and Field," etc. 



PACIFIC RURAL PRESS 

SAN FRANCISCO 

1914 






COPYRIGHT iqn 

BY 

E. J. WiCKSON 

AND 

Pacific Rural Press 



DEC 29 l9lo 



'CI.A3G2ia4 



FOREWORD 

This brochure is not a systematic treatise in catechetical form 
intended to cover what the writer holds to be most important to 
know about California agricultural practices. It is simply a classified 
arrangement of a thousand or more questions which have been 
actually asked, and to which answers have been undertaken through 
the columns of the Pacific Rural Press^ a weekly journal of agricul- 
ture published in San Francisco. Whatever value is claimed for the 
work is based upon the assumption that information, which about 
seven hundred people have actually asked for, would be also interest- 
ing and helpful to thousands of other people. If you do not find in 
this compilation what you desire to know, submit your question to 
the Pacific Rural Press, San Francisco, in the columns of which 
answers to agricultural questions are weekly set forth at the rate of 
five hundred or more each 3'ear. 

This publication is therefore intended to answer a thousand 
questions for you and to encourage you to ask a thousand more. 

E. J. WICKSON. 



CONTENTS 

Part I. Fruit Growing 

Part II. Vegetable Growing 

Part III. Grain and Forage Crops 

Part IV. Soils, Irrigation, and Fertilizers 

Part V. Live Stock and Dairy 

Part VI. Feeding Animals 

Part VII. Diseases of Animals 

Part VIII. Poultry Keeping 

Part IX. Pests and Diseases of Plants 

Part X. Index 



PART I. FRUIT GROWING 

Depth of Soil for Fruit. 

Would four feet of good loose soil be enough for lemons? 

Four feet of good soil, providing the underlying rtrata are not 
charged with alkali, would give you a good growth of lemon trees if 
moisture was regularly present in about the right quantity, neither too 
much nor too little, and the temperature conditions were favorable to the 
success of this tree, which will not stand as much frost as the orange. 

Temperatures for Citrus Fruits. 

What is the lozvest temperature at which grapefruit and lemons zvill 
succeed? 

The grapefruit tree is about as hardy as the orange; the lemon is 
much more tender. The fruit of citrus trees will be injured by tem- 
perature at the ordinary freezing point if continued for some little time, 
and the tree itself is likely to be injured by a temperature of 25 or 27° 
if continued for a few hours. The matter of duration of a low tempera- 
ture is perhaps quite as important as the degree which is actually reached 
by the thermometer. The condition of the tree as to being dormant or 
active also affects injury by freezing temperatures. Under certain con- 
ditions an orange tree may survive a temperature of 15° Fahrenheit. 

Roots for Fruit Trees. 

/ zvish to bud from certain trees that nurseries probably do not carry, 
as they came from a seedling. Is there more than one variety of myrob- 
alan used, and if so, is one as good as another? If I take sprouts that 
come up ztfhere the roots have been cut, zvill they make good trees? I 
have tried a fezv, nozv three years old, and the trees are doing nicely so 
far, but the roots sprout up zuhere cut. I am informed that if I can 
raise them from slips they zvill not sprout up from the root. Will apri- 
cots and peaches grafted or budded on myrobalan produce fruit as large 
as they zvill if grafted on their ozitn stock? 

Experience seems to be clear that from sprouts you will get sprouts. 
We prefer rooted cuttings to sprouts, but even these are abandoned for 
seedling roots of the common deciduous fruits and of citrus fruits also. 
The apricot does well enough on the myrobalan if the soil needs that 
root; they are usually larger on the peach root or on apricot seedlings. 
The peach is no longer worked on the myrobalan in this State. One 
seedling of the cherry plum is about as good a myrobalan as another. 



6 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

What Will the Sucker Be? 

/ have a Japanese plum tree which bears choice plums. Three years 
ago a strong young shoot came up from the root of it, which I dug out 
and planted. Will it make a hearing tree in time and be of like quality 
■with the parent? 

It will certainly bear something when it gets ready. Whether it will 
be like the parent tree depends upon the wood from which the sucker 
broke out. If the young tree was budded very low, or if it was planted 
low, or if the ground has been shifted so as to bring the wood above 
the bud in a place to root a sucker, the fruit will be that of the parent 
tree. If the shoot came from the root below the bud, you will get a 
duplication of whatever stock the plum was budded on in the nursery. 
It might be a peach or an almond or a cherry plum. Of course you can 
study the foliage and wood growth of the sucker, and thus get an idea 
of what you may expect. 

Tree Planting on Coast Sands. 

/ wish to plant fruit trees on a sandy nicsa zocll protected from rwnds 
about a mile from the coast. The soil is a light sandy loam. I intend to 
dig the holes for the trees this fall, each hole the shape of an inverted 
cone, about 4 feet deep and 5 feet across, and put a half-load of rotten 
stable manure in each hole this fall. The zvinter's rains zvould zvash a 
large amount of plant food from this manure into the ground. In March 
I propose to plant the trees, shoveling the surrounding soil on top of 
the manure and giving a copious watering to ensure the compact settling 
of the soil about and belozv the roots. The roots would be about a foot 
above the manure. 

On such a light sandy soil you can use stable manure more safely 
than you could elsewhere, providing you have wa,ter handy to use if you 
should happen to get too much coarse matter under the tree, which would 
cause drying out of the soil. If you do get plenty of water to guard 
against this danger, you are likely to use too much and cause the trees 
to grow too fast. Be very sure the manure is well rotted and use one 
load to ten holes instead of two. Whether you kill the trees or cause 
them to grow aright depends upon how you use water after planting. 

A Wrong Idea of Inter-Planting. 

What forage plant can I grow in a newly planted orcliardf The soil 
is on a gently inclined hillside — red, decomposed rock, very deep, mellow, 
fluffy, and light, and deep dozvn is clayish in character. It cannot be ir- 
rigated, therefore I zvish to put out a drought-resisting plant which could 
be harvested, say, in June or July, or even later. I find the follozinng 
plants, but I cannot decide zvhich one is the best: Yellozv soja bean, spelts, 
Egyptian corn, Jerusalem corn, yellozv Milo maize, or one of the millets. 
What do you think? 

Do not think for a moment about planting any such plant between 
orchard trees which are to subsist on rainfall' without irrigation. Your 



Fruit Growing 7 

trees will have difficulty enough in making satisfactory growth on rain- 
fall, and would be prevented from doing so if they had to divide the 
soil moisture with crops planted between them. The light, deep soils 
which you mention, resulting from decomposed rock, are not retentive 
enough, and, even with the large rainfall of your region, may require 
irrigation to carry trees througli the latter summer and early fall growth. 

What Slopes for Fruit? 

/ want to plant soiiie apples and berries. One man says plant 
them on the east or south slope of the hill and they zmll be ripe 
early. Another man says not to do that, for when the sun hits the 
trees or vines in the morning before the frost is off, it will kill all the 
blossoms, and as they zuould be on the ivarm side of the hill they zvould 
blossom earlier and there will be more frosts to injure them. I am told 
to plant them on the north or luest side of the hill, zvhere it is cold, and 
they will blossom later and zvill therefore have less frosts to bother them, 
and tlie frost zvill be almost off before the sun hits them in the morning. 

Fruit is grown on all slopes in our foothills, depending on local 
conditions. On the whole, we should choose the east and north 
slopes rather than the east and south, because there is less danger 
of injury from too great heat. In some cases what is said to you 
about the less danger of injury from frosts on the north and west 
slopes would be true. All these things depend upon local conditions, 
because there is so much difiference in heat and frost and similar 
slopes at different elevations and exposures. There can never be a 
general rule for it in a State so endowed with varying conditions 
as California is. 

Trees Over Underflow. 

/ have planted fruit trees near the creek, where they do not have 
to be irrigated as the ground there holds sufficient moisture for them, 
but a neighbor tells ine that on account of the moisture being so near 
the surface the trees zvill not bear fruit zvell, although they zvill grozv 
and have all the appearances of health. 

Shallow soil above standing water is not good for fruit trees. A 
shallow soil over moving water or underflow, such as you might ex- 
pect from a creek bank, is better. The effect of water near the surface 
depends also upon the character of the soil, being far more dangerous 
in the case of a heavy clay soil than in the case of a light loam, through 
which water moves more readily and does not rise so far or so rapidly 
by capillary action. If the trees are thrifty they will bear when they 
attain a sufficient age and stop the riotous growth which is character- 
istic of young trees with abundant moisture. If trees have too much 
water for their health, it will be manifested by the rotting of their 
roots, the dying of their branches, the cropping out of mushroom fungi 
at the base and other manifestations of distress. So long as the tree 
is growing well, maintains good foliage to the tip of the branches and 
is otherwise apparently strong, it may be expected to bear fruit in due 
time. 



8 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

The "June Drop." 

/ am sending four peaches which are falling off the trees. Can 
yon tell me Jiozv to prevent falling of the fruit next year and what 
causes it? 

It is impossible to tell from the peaches which you send what 
caused their falling. Where fruit passes the pollination stage success- 
fully, as these fruits have, the dropping is generally attributed to some 
conditions affecting the growth of the tree, which never have been fully 
determined. It is of such frequent occurrence that it is called the 
June drop, and it usually takes place in May in California. As the 
cause is not understood no rational preventive has been reached. A 
general treatment which consists in keeping the trees in good grow- 
ing condition late enough during the previous season, that is, by 
seeing to it that they do not suffer from lack of moisture which causes 
them to close their growing season too soon before preparation for 
the following year's crop is made, is probably the best way to 
strengthen the tree for its burden. 

Trees Over a Gravel Streak. 

/ have an apricot orchard seven years old. Most of the land is 
a fairly heavy clay zvith a strip of gravel in the middle running nearly north 
and south. The trees on the clay bear good crops, but those on the 
gravel are usually much lighter in hearing and this year had a very 
light crop. Can you tell me of anything I can do to make them bear? 
The trees are large and healtliy looking, and grow big crops of brush. 

We should try some water in July on the gravel streak, hoping 
to continue activity in the tree later to induce formation of strong 
fruit for the following year. On the clay loam the soil does this 
by its superior retentiveness. 

Fruit and Overflow. 

/ have i6 acres of rich bottom-land that overflozvs and is under 
water from 24 to 48 hours. I would like to set the ground to fruit 
trees, either prunes, pears, apricots, or peaches. Would it be safe to 
set them on such land? 

Fruit trees will endure overflowing, providing the water does 
not exclude the air too long and providing the soil is free enough 
so that the soil does not remain full of water after the surface flow 
disappears. If the soil does not naturally drain itself and the water 
is forced to escape by surface evaporation, probably the situation 
is not satisfactory for any kind of fruit trees. Overflow is more 
likely to be dangerous to fruit trees during the growing season than 
during the dormant season, and yet on well-drained soil even a small 
overflow may not be injurious on a free soil, if not continued too 
long. Prunes on plum root, and pears will endure wet soil better 
than apricots or peaches. 



Fruit Growing 9 

Fruit Trees and Sunburn. 

How long is it wise to leave protection around young fruit trees 
set out in March in this hot valley? The trees are doing well, hut we 
could not tell zvhen to take away protection. 

It is necessary to maintain the protection from sunburn all 
through the autumn, for the autumn sun is often very hot, and as 
the sap flow lessens, the danger of burning is apparently greater. 
The bark also must be protected against the spring sunshine, even 
before the leaves appear. So long as the sun has a chance at the 
bark, you must protect it from sunburn. 

Replanting in Orchard. 

Is it considered a good plan to set the tree at once in the place 
where one has died, or is it better to wait a year before replacing? 

It is not necessary to wait a year in making a replanting. Get 
out all the old roots you can by digging a large hole, fill in with 
fresh soil, and your tree will accept the situation. 

Whole Roots or Piece Roots. 

For commercial apple orchards zvhich is preferable, trees grafted on 
piece roots or on zvhole roots? On behalf of the piece-root trees it 
is claimed they sprout up less around the tree. On the other hand, 
it is claimed they never make a vigorous tree. What is the truth? 

Value depends rather upon what sort of a growth the tree makes 
afterward than upon what it starts upon. Theoretically perhaps a 
whole-root tree may be demonstrated to be better; practically, we 
cannot see that it becomes so necessarily, because we have trees 
planted at a time when the root graft on a piece was the general rule 
in propagation. After all, is it not more important to have soil 
conditions and culture of such character that a great root can grow 
in the orchard than to have a whole nursery concentrated in the root 
of the yearling tree? As for the claim that a root graft on a piece- 
root never makes a vigorous tree, we know that is nonsense. 

Planting Deciduous Fruit Trees. 

In order to gain time, I have thought of planting apples and pears 
this fall, in the belief I would be just that much nearer a crop, than 
though I zvaited until next spring. The land is sandy loam; no irriga- 
tion. Would you adznse fall or spring planting? If fall, would it be 
best to plozv the land now, turning in the stubble from hay crop, or 
wait until time to plant before plozmng? 

You will not be any nearer a crop, for next summer's growth will 
be the first in either case. On land not liable to be too wet in 
winter, it is, however, best to plant early, say during the month of 
December, if the ground is in good condition and sufficiently moist. 



10 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

If the year's rainfall has been scant, wait until the land is well wet 
down, for it is never desirable to plant when the soil is not in the 
right condition, no matter what the calendar may say. On a sandy 
loam early planting is nearly always safe and desirable. On lands 
which are too wet and liable to be rendered very cold by the heavy 
January rains, planting had better be deferred until February, or as 
soon as the ground gets in good condition after these heavy rains. 
Whenever you plant, it will be desirable to plow the land either in 
advance of the rains, if it is workable, or as soon as rain enough 
comes to make it break up well. It is very seldom desirable to post- 
pone plowing until the actual time of planting comes. 

Budding Fruit Trees. 

Is it better to bud in old bark of an old tree or in younger wood barkf 
Hozv do you separate old bark without breaking it in lifting the bark? 

Buds may be placed in old bark of fruit trees to a certain extent. 
The orange and the olive work better that way than do the deciduous 
trees, although buds in old bark of the peach have done well. They 
should, however, be inserted early in the season v»?hile the sap flow 
is active and the old bark capable of lifting; if the bark sticks, do 
not try budding. In spite of these facts, nearly all budding of de- 
ciduous trees is done in bark of the current year's growth. 

Starting Fruit Trees from Seed. 

Hozv shall I start, and zvhcn, the follozving seeds: Peach, plums, 
apricots, wahtuts, olives and cherries? In the East zve used to plant 
them in the fall, so as to have them freeze; as it does not freeze enough 
here, zvhat do I have to do? 

Do just the same. In California, heat and moisture cause the 
parting of the seed-cover, more slowly perhaps, but just as surely 
as the frost at the East. Early planting of all fruit pits and nuts 
is desirable for two reasons. First, it prevents too great drying and 
hardening and other changes in the seed, because the soil moisture 
prevents it; second, it gives plenty of time for the opening and ger- 
mination first mentioned. But early planting must be in ground 
which is loamy and light rather than heavy, because if the soil is so 
heavy as to become water-logged the kernel is more apt to decay 
than to grow. Where there is danger of this, the seed can be kept 
in boxes of sand, continually moist, but not wet, by use of water, and 
planted out, as sprouting seeds, after the coldest rains are over, say 
in February. Cherry and plum seeds sho.ild be kept moist after 
taking from the fruit; very little is usually had from dry seeds. The 
other fruits will stand considerable drying. Very few olives are from 
the seed, because of reversion to wild types — also because it is so 
much easier to get just the variety you want by growing trees from 
cuttings. 



Fruit Growing 11 

Mailing Scions. 

JVhicJi is the best n'ay to send scions by niailf 

Wax the ends of mature cuttings, remove the leaves and en- 
close in a tight tin canister with no wet packing material. 

Nursery Stock in Young Orchard. 

Hozu zoill it do to raise, for t:co or three years, a lot of orange 
seedlings bctu'cen the rows of young three-year-old orange trees? I 
see that a nurseryman near mc has done this, and his trees are more 
flourishing than mine. 

It can be done all right, as your own observation affirms. The 
superior appearance of the trees may be due to the additional water, 
and fertilizer probably, used to push the seedlings; possibly also to 
extra cultivation given them. It all depends upon what policy is 
observed in growing the seedlings; if something more than usual is 
done for their sakes, the trees may get their share and manifest it. 
If not, the trees will be robbed by the seedlings, and there is likely to 
be loss by both. There is no advantage in the mere fact that both 
are grown; there may be in the way they are grown. Whether there 
is money value in the operation or not depends upon how many un- 
dertake it. 

Square or Triangular Planting. 

What is your opinion on triangular planting as compared with square 
planting f 

Planting in squares is the prevailing method. The triangular 
plan is not a good one when one contemplates removing trees planted 
as fillers. The orchard should either be planned in the square or 
quincunx form. In the latter case individual trees can be easily re- 
moved; in the other case rows can be removed — leaving the rows 
which you wish to keep equidistant from each other. 

Killing Stumps by Medication. 

JVill boring into green stumps and inserting a handful of saltpeter 
kill the roots and cause the stump to readily burn up a few months 
later f 

We have tried all kinds of prescriptions and have never killed a 
stump which had a mind to live. Many trees can be killed by cutting 
to stumps when in full growth, whether they are bored or not. Others 
will sprout in spite of all medicinal insertions we know of when these 
are placed in the inner wood of the stump. We believe a stump can 
be killed by sufficient contact with the inner bark layer of arsenic, 
bluestone, gasoline, and many other things, but it is not easy to ar- 
range for such sufficient contact, and it would probably cost more 
than it would to blow or pull out the stump. One reader, however, 
assures us that he has killed large eucalyptus stumps by boring three 
holes in the stump with an inch auger, near the outer rim of the 



12 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

stump, placing therein a tablespoonful of potassium cyanide and 
saltpeter mixture (half and half), and plugging tightly. Another says: 
Give the stumps a liberal application of salt, say a half-inch all over 
the top, and let the fog and rain dissolve and soak down, and you will 
not have much trouble with suckers. 

Planting Fruit Trees on Clearings. 

We zi'ish to plant orchard trees on land cleared this zvintcr: niansa- 
nita and chaparral, but also some oaks and large pines and groves of 
small pines. We have been told that trees planted under such conditions, 
the ground containing the many small roots that zve cannot get out, 
would not do zvell. Are the bad effects of the small roots liable to be 
serious; also, zvould lime or any other common fertiliser counteract 
the bad effects? 

Proceed with the planting, as you are ready for it, and take the 
chances of root injury. It may be slight; possibly even absent. Care- 
fully throw out all root pieces, as you dig the hole, and exclude them 
from the earth which you use in filling around the roots, and in the 
places where large trees stood, fill the holes with soil from a distance. 
Much depends upon how clean the clearing was. No considerable 
antiseptic efifect could be expected from lime and the soil ought to be 
strong enough to grow good young trees without enrichment. The 
pear, fig and California black walnut are some of the most resistant 
among fruit-bearing trees, and these may usually be planted with 
safety. The cherry is the most resistant of the stone fruits. The 
"toadstool" disease occasionally affects young apple trees recently set 
out, but it is not usually serious on established trees. 

Dipping Roots of Fruit Trees. 

In planting an almond orchard zvould it be of any benefit to dip the 
young trees in a solution of blucstone and lime dissolved? 

We doubt if it would serve any good purpose. If done at all 
the dip should be carefully prepared in accordance with the formula 
for bordeaux mixture, for excess of bluestone will kill roots. Healthy 
trees do not need such treatment, and we doubt if unhealthy ones can 
be rendered safe or desirable by it. 

Preparing for Fruit Planting. 

What effect znfill a crop of zvhcat have on nczu cleared land, to be 
planted in fruit frees later on? 

One crop of wheat or barley will make no particular difference 
with the cleared land which you expect to plant to fruit later. It 
would be better to grow a cultivated crop like corn, potatoes, beets, 
squashes, etc., because this crop would require summer cultivation 
which would kill out many weeds or sprouts and leave your land in 
better shape for planting. 



Fruit Growing 13 

Depth in Planting Fruit Trees. 

/ have been advised to plant the bud scar above ground in a wet 
country. Is that right? 

On ordinary good loam, plant the tree so that it will stand about 
the same as it did in the nursery: a little lower, perhaps, but not much. 
The bud scar should be a little above the surface. It is somewhat 
less likely to give trouble by decay in the upset tissue. If the soil is 
heavy and wet, plant higher, perhaps, than the nursery soil-mark, but 
not much. In light, sandy soil, plant lower — even from four to six 
inches lower — than in the nursery sometimes. In this case the bud- 
scar is below the surface, but that does not matter in a light, dry 
soil which does not retain moisture near the surface. 

Fruit Trees in a Wet Place. 

One part of my orchard is loiv and wet, much scale and old trees 
loose. Will much spraying be a cure and can I use posts to hold the 
old trees firm, or would you take out and put in Bartlett pears? 

Spraying would kill the scale but no spraying will make a tree 
satisfactory in inhospitable soil. As pears will endure wet places 
better than apples, it would seem to be wise to make the substitution, 
providing the situation is not too bad for any fruit tree. In that case 
you can use it for a summer vegetable patch. 

Cutting Back at Planting. 

/ have planted a lot of one-year-old cherry trees and zvould like to 
knozu if I should cut them down the same as the apple tree? I have 
also planted a lot of walnut trees. Shall I cut them off? 

Yes for the cherries and no for the walnuts — although we have to 
admit that some planters hold for cutting back the walnuts also. If 
you do cut back the walnuts, let them have about twice the height of 
stem you give the cherries and cover the exposed pith with wax or 
paint. 

Branching Young Fruit Trees. 

It is the practice in this locality to wrap all young trees to a point 
24 inches above the bud, for the purpose of protection against rabbits, 
to protect the bark from the sun and to prevent grozvth of sprouts. These 
wrappings are kept on indefinitely, the rule being that no sprouting is to 
be permitted beloiv the 24-inch mark. Is there any virtue in this, and 
why is it done? 

The wrapping is desirable both to protect them from rabbits and 
from sunburn, and either this or whitewash or some other form of 
protection should certainly be employed against the latter trouble. It 
is not desirable to have all the branches emerge at the same point, 
either 24 from the ground or at some lower level, as is preferable in 
interior situations, but branches should be distributed up and down 



14 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

and around the trunk so as to give a strong, well-balanced, low-headed 
tree. So far as wrapping interferes with the growth of shoots in this 
manner it is undesirable. 

Coal Tar and Asphaltum on Trees. 

What is the effect of coal tar or asphaltum applied to the hark of 
trees? 

The application of coal tar to prevent the root borers of the prune 
which operate near the surface of the ground was found to be 
not injurious to the trees, although there was great apprehension that 
there would be. The application of asphaltum, what is known as 
"grade D," has been also used to some extent in the Santa Clara valley 
without injury. Of course, in the use of any black material, you in- 
crease the danger of sunburn, if applied to bark which is reached by 
the sun's rays. 

Whitewashing Fruit Trees. 

When is the proper time to zvhitezvash walnut trees to prevent sun- 
scald? Hozv high up is it advisable to apply the wash? 

Whitewash after heavy rains are over and before the sun gets 
very hot; near the coast see that it is on early in April; in the interior 
it should be in place in March. Do not wait until all the rains are 
over, because there is a great chance of bark-burning between rains 
in the spring. Whitewash the trunk and the larger limbs — wherever 
the sun can reach the bark; being careful to keep the surface white 
where the 2 o'clock sun hits it. Be particular to whitewash, or other- 
wise protect by "protectors" or burlap wrappings, all young trees; 
the young tree is more apt to be hurt than an old one, but bark seems 
never to get too old to burn if the sun is hot enough. 

Shaping a Young Tree. 

In shortening hack long, slim limhs the side shoots come out, and 
one soon has a lot of ugly, crooked limbs to look at. There are a number 
of orchards here being spoiled in that way. How is this avoided? 

You cannot secure a low-heading, well-shaped tree without cut- 
ting back the branches. Afterward you can improve the form by 
selecting shoots which are going in directions which you prefer, or 
you can cut back the shoots afterward to a bud which will start in the 
direction which you desire. In this way the progressive shaping of 
the tree must be pursued. If you only have a few trees and can af- 
ford the time, you can, of course, bend and tie the branches as they 
grow, so that they will take directions which seem to you better, but 
this is not practicable in orcharding on a commercial scale. There is 
no disadvantage in crooked branches in a fruit tree, but they should 
crook in desirable directions, and that is where the art in pruning 
comes in. 



Fruit Growing 15 

Pruning Times. 

What is the best time to prune the French prune and most other 
treesf In Santa Clara valley they prune as soon as leaves are off ; in 
the mountains they prune later, say in February and March, and finish 
after bloom is started and of course when sap is up. Which is right? 

You can prune French prunes and other deciduous trees at any 
time during the winter that is most convenient to you. It does 
not make any particular difference to the tree, nor does it injure the 
tree at all if you should continue pruning after the bloom has started. 
In fact, it is better to make large cuts late in the winter, because they 
heal over more readily at the beginning of the growing period than 
at the beginning of the resting season. It is believed that early prun- 
ing maj' cause the tree or vine to start growth somewhat sooner and 
this may be undesirable in very frosty places. 

Grafting Wax. 

How shall I make grafting wax for grafting fruit treesf 
There are many "favorite prescriptions" for grafting wax. One 
which is now being largely used in fruit tree grafting is as follows: 
Resin, 5 lbs.; beeswax, 1 lb.; linseed oil, 1 pint; flour, 1 pint. The 
flour is added slowly and stirred in after the other ingredients have 
been boiled together and the liquid becomes somewhat cooler. Some 
substitute lampblack for flour. This wax is warmed and applied as 
a liquid. 

Plowing in Young Orchard. 
How near can I plow to two-year-old orange trees safely f 
You can plow young orange orchards as close to the trees as you 
can approach without injuring the bark, regulating depth so as not to 
destroy main roots. Destruction of root fibers which have approached 
too near the surface is not material. It is very desirable that the soil 
around and near the tree be as carefully worked as possible without 
injury to the bark of the tree. How far that can be done by horse 
work and how much must be done by hand must be decided by the 
individual judgment of the grower. 

Crops Between Fruit Trees. 

IVhat ivould be best to groiv bctzveen fruit trees, while the trees are 
grozving, and what to alternate each season, so as not to use up the soil 
without putting back into it? 

Where one is bringing along a young orchard, without irrigation, 
it is doubtful whether it is not better policy to give the trees all the 
advantage of clean cultivation and ample moisture than to undertake 
intercropping. If you live on the place and wish to grow vegetables 
between the rows, the thorough cultivation to bring the vegetables 
along satisfactorily would help to preserve moisture enough both for 
the vegetables and for the trees, but this is very different from 



16 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

growing a field crop by ordinary methods of cultivation. Select a 
crop which will require summer cultivation, like corn, potatoes, 
squashes, and beans, and never a hay or grain crop which takes up 
moisture without working the soil for the greater moisture conversa- 
tion which hoed crops require. In choice of hoed crops be gov- 
erned by what you can use to advantage, either for house or the 
feeding of animals, or what you can grow that is salable with least 
loss of moisture in the soil. The choice is governed entirely by 
local conditions, except that leguminous plants — peas, beans, vetches, 
clovers, etc. — do take nitrogen from the atmosphere and can thus 
be grown with least injury and sometimes with a positive benefit 
to the fertility of the soil. 

Regular Bearing of Fruit Trees. 

How can trees he induced to bear regularly instead of bearing exces- 
sively on alternate years? 

The most rational view is that in order to bear regularly the 
tree must be prevented from overbearing by thinning of the fruit; 
also that the moisture and plant-food supply must be regularly 
maintained, so that the tree may work along regularly and not stop 
bearing one year in order to accumulate vigor for a following year's 
crop. There is some reason to believe that some trees which seem 
to overbear every year can be prolonged in their profitable life and 
made to produce a moderate amount of fruit of large size and 
higher value by sharp thinning to prevent overbearing at any time. 
This is found clearly practicable in tlie cases of the apricot, peach, 
pear, apple, table grape, shipping plum, etc., because the added 
value of larger fruits is greater than the cost of removing the sur- 
plus. 

Scions from Young Trees. 

/ have bought some one-year-old apple trees that are certified pedigree 
trees. Would it be practical to take the tops of these trees and graft on 
one-year seedlings and get the same results as from the trees I bought? 
Will they bear just as good, or is it necessary to take the scions from 
old hearing trees? 

They will bear exactly tlie same fruit as tlie young trees will, 
but you cannot tell how good that will be until you get the fruit. 
The advantage of scions from bearing trees is that you know exactly 
what you will get. for, presumably, you have seen and approved it. 

Late Pruning. 

Will I do injury to my peach trees if I delay pruning until the last of 
February, or until the sap begins to run and the buds to szvell? 

It will not do any particular harm to let your peach pruning 
go until the buds swell or even after the leaves appear. Late prun- 
ing is not injurious, but rather more inconvenient. 



Fruit Growing 17 

Avoiding Crotches in Fruit Trees. 

Hoiv can I avoid bad crotches in fruit trees? 

Crotches, which means branches of equal or nearly equal size, 
emerging from a point at a very acute angle, should be prevented 
by cutting out one or both of them. The branching of a lateral at 
a larger angle does not form a crotch and it usually buttresses it- 
self well on the larger branch. That is a desirable form of branch- 
ing. Short distances between such branchings is desirable, because 
it makes a stronger and more permanently upright limb, capable of 
sustaining much weight of foliage and fruit. Build up the young tree 
by shortening in as it grows, so as to get such a strong framework. 

Crotch-Splitting of Fruit Trees. 

/ have a young fig tree that is splitting at the crotches. I fear that 
rvhen the foliage appears, with the force of the zvinds the limbs tvill split 
dozvn entirely. 

Perhaps you have been forcing the trees too much with water 
and thus secured too much foliage and weak wood. Whenever a 
tree is doing that, the limbs ought to be supported with bale rope 
tied to opposite limbs through the head, or otherwise held up, to 
prevent splitting. If splitting has actually occurred, the weaker limb 
should be cut away and the other staked if necessary until it gets 
strength and stiffens. If the limbs are rather large they can be 
drawn up and a Vi8-'"ch carriage bolt put through to hold both in 
place; but this is a poor way to make a strong tree. We should 
cut out all splits and do the best we could to make a tree out of 
what is left. Then do not make them grow so fast. 

Strengthening Fruit Trees. 

/ have read that some trees are propped by natural braces; that is, 
by inter-twining two opposite branches zvhile the tree is young, so that in 
time they groiv together. What is your idea regarding the practicability 
of such an idea in a large commercial orchard? 

Twining branches for the purpose indicated is frequently com- 
mended, but it seems best for the use of ingenious people with 
plenty of time and not many trees. To prune trees to carry their 
fruit so far as one can foresee, and to use props or other supports 
when a tree manifests need of a particular help which was not 
foreseen is the most rational way to handle the proposition on a 
large commercial scale. 

Time for Pruning. 

What is the proper time for pruning pear and apricot trees? 

Ordinary deciduous fruit trees can be successfully pruned from 
the time the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall, until the new 
foliage is appearing in the late winter or spring. 



18 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Grape Planting. 

What is the proper time for planting grape vines? 

Grape vines are most successfully planted after the heavy rains 
and low temperatures are over and before the growth starts. This 
will usually be whenever the soil is in good condition, during the 
months of February and March. 

Covering Tree Wounds. 

What is the best stuff to use on wounds and large cuts on my fruit 
trees? I have used grafting xvax, but it is expensive and not altogether 
satisfactory. 

Amputation wounds on trees can be more successfully treated 
with lead and oil paint than with grafting wax. Mixed paint con- 
taining benzine would not be so good as pure lead and oil mixed 
for the purpose and then carefully applied as to amount so as not 
to run. "Asphaltum Grade D" may also be used in the same way. 

Covering Sunburned Bark. 

Would asphaltum do to use on sunburned bark? 

Owing to the attraction of the heat by the black color, asphal- 
tum would increase the injury by absorption of more heat. Some 
white coating is altogether best for sunburn injuries, because it will 
reflect and not absorb heat, and a durable whitewash applied as 
may be needed to keep the white covering intact is undoubtedly the 
best treatment. Where the bark has been actually removed, white 
paint would be superior to whitewash to keep the wood from check- 
ing while the wound was being covered laterally by the growth of 
new bark. 

Too Much Pruning. 

Some peach trees entering the third year ii.'ere pruned early in the 
zvinter very severely. The pruncr merely left the trunk and the three or 
four main laterals, the latter about one foot in length. A large proportion 
of these trees have not sprouted as yet, though older and better pruned 
trees are all sprouted in the same vicinity. The bark is green and has 
considerable sap. Will the trees commence to grow? 

The trees will sprout later, after they have developed latent 
buds into active form. The pruning probably removed all the buds 
of recent growth. After starting they will make irregular growth, 
starting too many shoots in the wrong places, etc., and considerable 
efifort will be necessary to get well-shaped trees by selection of 
shoots in the right places and thinning out those which are not 
desirable. 

For Broken Roots. 

When the root of an orange or other fruit tree is exposed or broken 
by the cultivator, what is the best way to treat that root? 

Where a root is actually broken it is best to cut it ofif cleanly 
above the break. This will induce quick healing over and the send- 



Fruit Growing 19 

ing out of other roots. Where there is only a bruise on one side. 

all the frayed edges of the wound should be cleanly cut back to 

sound bark, which will have a tendency to promote healing and 
prevent decay. 

Pruning in Frosty Places. 

This appears to be a frosty section. Pruners are at ivork continuously 
from the time the apricots are harvested until spring arrives. From what 
is said in "California Fruits" I judge late winter pruning would be best for 
apricots and peaches. Am I correct? 

In frosty places it is often desirable to prune rather late, be- 
cause the late-pruned tree usually starts later than the early pruned, 
and thus may not bloom until after frost is over. 

Low Growth on Fruit Trees. 

Should the little tzvigs on the lower parts of young fruit trees be 
removed or shortened? 

An important function which these small shoots and the foliage 
which they will carry perform is in the thickening of the larger 
branches to which they are attached and overcoming the tendency 
of the tree to become too tall and spindling. This can be done at 
any time, even to the pinching of young, soft shoots as they appear. 
It must be said, however, that in ordinary commercial fruit growing 
little attention is paid to these fine points, which are the great 
enjoyment of the European fruit-gardeners and are of questionable 
value in our standard orcharding. It is, however, a great mistake 
to clear away all low twigs, for such twigs bring the first fruit on 
young trees. 

Are Tap-Roots Essential? 

Is it better to plant a nut or seed or to plant a grafted root; also is 
it better to allozu the tap-root to remain or not in event of planting a 
grafted root? 

It does not matter at all whether the tree has its original tap- 
root or not. All tap-roots are more or less destroyed in trans- 
planting and the fact that not one per cent of the walnut trees now 
bearing crops in California consist of trees grown from the nut 
itself planted in place, is suflicient demonstration to us that it is 
perfectly practicable to proceed with transplanting the trees. It is 
more important that the tree should have the right sort of soil and 
the right degree of moisture to grow in than that it should retain 
the root from which the seedling started. The removal of the tap- 
root does not prevent the tree from sending out one or several 
deep running roots which will penetrate as deeply as the soil and 
moisture conditions favor. This is true not only of the walnut but 
of other fruit trees. 



20 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Transplanting Old Trees. 

Can I triiiisf^liiiit fruit trees 2 to 3 inches throui^h the butt, about one 
foot from the iiroundf Varieties are orani^cs, lemons, pears, apples and 
Eniilish rvalnuts nearly 4 inches through the butt. I zvish to move them 
nearly a mile. What is the best ivay and what the best month to do 
the work, or are trees too large to do zvell if moved-' 

The orange and lemon will do better in transplanting than the 
others. Take up the trees when the soil becomes warmed by the 
sun after the coldest weather is over. This may be in February. 
Cut back the branches severely and take up the trees with a good 
ball of earth, using suitable lifting tackle to handle it without break- 
ing. Settle the earth around the ball in the new place with water, 
and keep the soil amply moist but not wet. Whitewash all bark 
exposed to the sun by cutting back. You can handle the walnut 
the same way, but it would, however, probably get such a setback 
that it might be better to buy a new tree two or three years old 
and plant that. The apples and pears we would not try to trans- 
plant, but would rather have good new yearlings than try to coax 
them along. Transplanting deciduous trees should be done earlier 
in the winter than evergreens. 

Dv/arfing a Fruit Tree. 

/ am told that by pruning the roots of a young tree after the root 
system is well started (say three years old) that as a result this will pro- 
duce a tree that is semi-dzvarfed or practically a divarfed fruit tree. 

Yes; cutting back the roots in the winter and cutting back the 
new growth in the summer will have a dwarfing efifect. The best 
way to get a dwarfed garden tree is to use a dwarfing root. You 
can get trees on such roots at the nurseries. 

Seedling Fruits. 

/ have been growing seedlings from the pits of some extra fine peaches 
and plums with a viezv to planting them. A nian near San Jose advised 
me that 1 zcould get good results, but since then I have met others who 
say that the fruit trees that spring from planted seeds yield only poor 
fruit. 

It is the tendency of nearly all improved fruit to revert to wild 
types, more or less, when grown from the seed. The chances are, 
then, that nine-tenths or more of the seedlings which you grew for 
fruiting might be worthless. A few might be as good as the fruit 
from which you took the pits; possibly one might be better. For 
these reasons the growing of fruit trees from pits and seeds is only 
used for the purpose of getting a root from which a chosen variety 
may be gotten by budding and grafting. 

Grafting. 

/ (//(/ (7 /////(■ grafting last spring, and as it was )ny first attempt, about 
ten per cent of the scions failed to grow. Nozv shall I sazv the stub off 



Fruit Growing 21 

lower doivn and try again, or bud into one of the sprouts that have grown 
around the cut end? The trees are pear and cherry. 

You did very well as a beginner not to lose more than one- 
tenth. Saw ofif below and graft again. You might have budded into 
one of those shoots last July, and if you fail again, bud into the 
new shoots next summer. 

Filling Holes in Trees. 

/ have a number of trees that, on accou)it of poor pruning and improper 
care, are decaying in the center. Many of them are hollow for a foot or 
more down the trunk. 

Excavate all the decayed wood with a chisel or gouge or what- 
ever cutting tool may work well and fill the cavity with Portland 
cement in such a way as to exclude moisture. This will prolong the 
life and productiveness of the trees for many years if other con- 
ditions are favorable. 

Deferring Bloom of Fruit Trees. 

Haz'e any experiments ever been carried on definitely to decide what 
causes early blossoming of fruit trees? For instance, have adjacent trees 
of the same variety been treated definitely by putting a heavy mulch around 
one to hold the cold temperature late in the spring, leaving the other tree 
unmulched so the roots could zmrm up? 

It has been definitely determined by the experiments of Pro- 
fessor Whidden of the Missouri Experiment Station that the swell- 
ing of the buds and starting of the foliage of fruit trees is due to 
the action of heat upon the aerial parts of the trees; that is, growth 
is not caused by increasing the temperature of the ground and can- 
not be retarded by cooling the ground. Experiments with the use 
of snow and ice under trees by which the ground has been kept 
at a low temperature have not prevented the activity of the tree. 
The only way known to retard activity is to spray the tree with 
whitewash so that the white color may reflect the heat and prevent 
the absorption of it by the bark, which is usually of a dark color 
and therefore suited to heat absorption. Retarding of growth is pos- 
sible in this way for a period of six to ten days, which, of course, 
in some cases might be of value,, but the lengthened dormancy is 
probably too small to constitute it of general value. In whitewash- 
ing, to determine what advantage there is in it in retarding growth, 
the tree should be thoroughly sprayed with whitewash so as to cover 
all the wood some time before tlie buds swell. In fact, it is to prevent 
the early swelling of the buds that the whitewashing is resorted to. It 
is better to make the application, therefore, a little too early than too 
late. A specific date cannot be given for it that would be right in 
all localities. 

Repairing Rabbit Injuries. 

Your hook says in pruning young trees for the first time, about four 
main branches should be left and these cut back to lo or 12 inches. Now, 



22 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

where the rabbits have pruned back to 4 or 5 inches the very ones I wanted, 
what should be done? Some say, cut these back to the stem, allowing new 
shoots to start from the base of branches so removed. 

Cut back to a bud near the stem, or if you do not see any, cut 
back near to the stem, but not near enough to remove the bark at 
the base of the shoot, for there are the latent buds which should 
give you the growth. This should be watched, and the best shoot 
selected from each point to make a strong branch, pinching back 
or removing the others. 

For a Bark Wound, 

What is best to do with an apricot or prune tree when it lias been hit 
with an implement and the bark knocked offf 

Cut around the bark wound with a sharp knife so as to remove 
all frayed edges. Cover the exposed wood with oil and lead paint 
to prevent cracking, and the wound will soon be covered with new 
bark from the sides. 

Bridging Gopher Girdles, 

Hozu shall I make the bridge-graft or root-graft over the trunks of 
trees girdled by gophers? Has this method proved successful in saving 
trees three or four inches in diameter, and how is it done? 

The bridging over of injury by mice by grafting has been known 
to be successful for decades in countries where this trouble is en- 
countered. Undoubtedly the same plan would work in the case of 
all bark injuries which can be bridged. The plan is to take good 
well-matured shoots which are a little longer than the injury which 
has to be spanned, making a sloping cut on both ends, also a cut 
into the healthy bark above and below the injury, and slip the cut 
ends of the cutting into the cuts in the bark so that the ends go 
under the bark above and below, and the cut ends are closely con- 
nected with the growing layer of the stock. If the cutting is made 
a little longer than the distance to be spanned, the tendency of the 
cutting by straightening is to hold itself in place. When in place, 
the connections should be covered with wax to prevent drying out. 

Soil-Binding Plant for Winter. 

What would be the best to plant in an orchard on ground of a light 
sandy sediment zvhich, after ploiuing, zvill move zvith the strong zvinds? 
I zvould like to plant something that zvill benefit the ground. The winds are 
the strongest from December to April. This is in the irrigated district and 
I need something that zvill make a sod during that period. 

We would, in all the valleys, advise a fall irrigation (if the rains 
are late) and the sowing of burr clover, which when started in 
September will have the ground well covered by December, if you 
keep the moisture right to push it. Disking or plowing this under 
in March (or April, according to locality) will hold the sand and 
afterward enrich it. You can do this every year, but probably you 
will not need to seed it more than once. 



Fruit Growing 23 

Bananas in California. 

Is there any reason zvliy bananas zvould not grozv and bear in the 
vicinity of Merced if they had plenty of zuafcrf Or zvould the cool nights 
at certain seasons keep them from bearing? Would they do better in the 
Imperial valley? 

Bananas would suffer too severely from frost to be profitable at 
any point in the interior valleys of California. A plant would be 
killed to the ground at least every year unless under glass or other 
protection. There are a few places practically frostless where 
bananas can be grown in this State, but there is no promise in com- 
mercial production because they can be so cheaply imported from 
the tropics. 

Carobs in California. 

Will the carob tree (St. John's Bread) do zvell in the Sacramento 
valley, and is it a desirable tree for lining a drivezvay? 

Carobs have been grown in California for thirty years or more 
and they will make a handsome driveway and give a lot of pods for 
the kids and the pigs — for they are "the husks which the swine did 
eat," and both like them. They ought to be much more widely 
planted in California because they grow well and are good to look 
upon. 

Spineless Cactus Fruit. 

/ have about tzvo acres of high land in Fresno county that can't be 
irrigated. It is red adobe soil and there is hardpan in it. Which kind 
of fruit trees zvill grozv and pay best? Hozv near may the hardpan be 
fa the surface before I have to blast it? 

It is a hard fruit proposition. Try spineless cactus, the fruits of 
which are delicious. Blasting would help if there is a moist sub- 
stratum below the hardpan and might enable you to grow many 
fruits. If your land is hard and dry all the way down, blasting 
would not help you unless you can get irrigation. Presumably your 
rainfall is too small for fruit unless you strike underflow below the 
hardpan. 

Cleaning Fruit Trays. 

What do you advise for killing and removing the zvhitish mold that 
forms on trays used for drying prunes? Would sunning the trays be 
effective, or zvashing in hot zvater, or is there some suitable fungicide? 

Good hot sun and dry wind will kill the mold. The spores of 
such a common mold are waiting everywhere, so that your fruit 
would mold anyway if conditions were right. Still, scalding the 
trays for cleanliness and a short trip through the sulphur box for 
fungus-killing is commended. 

Killing Moss on Old Trees. 

/ have some Bartlett pear trees that are covered zjvith moss and 
mold, and the bark is rough and checked. I have used potash (98%), 



24 One Thousanp Questions in Agriculture 

/ pound to 6 gallons spray. It hills the long moss, but the green mold 
it does not seem to affect. The trees have been sprayed about one week. 
Some trees have been sprayed zvith a i poutid to lo gallons solution by 
mistake. Shall I spray these again with full strength, and zvhen? 

You have (lone enough for the moss at present. Even the weaker 
solution ouglit to be strong enough to clean the bark. Wait and see 
how the bark looks when the potash gets through biting; it will 
keep at it for some time, taking a fresh hold proliably with each new 
moisture supply from shower or damp air. The spray should have 
been shot onto the bark with considerable force — not simply sprinkled 
on. 

Shy-Bearing Apples. 

/ have some apple trees lo and 12 years old that do not bear satis- 
factorily, but persist in making S to 6 feet of nezv zvood each year. If 
not cut back this zvinter, zvill they be more likely to make fruit buds? 

Yes, probably. Certainly you should try it. You should also 
cultivate less and slow down the growth. If they then take to bear- 
ing, you can resume moderate pruning and better cultivation. This 
is on the assumption that your trees are in too rich or too moist a 
place. But you should satisfy yourself by inquiry and observation 
as to whether the same varieties do bear well in your vicinity when 
conditions are such that slower growth is made. Tf the variety is 
naturally shy in bearing, or if it requires cross-pollination, the pro- 
posed repressive treatment might not avail anything. In that case 
you can graft over the tree to some variety which does bear well 
or graft part of the trees to another variety for cross-pollination. 

No Apples on Quince. 

llozv large a tree zvill the Yellozu Bellefleur apple make if grafted 
or budded on quince root at the age of 15 years? I have been trying to 
get some information about dwarf fruit trees, but it is difficult to get. 

No wonder the informatit)n is hard to get. The Yellow Belle- 
fleur will not grow upon the quince at all, or at least not for long. 
In growing dwarf ap]iles the Paradise stock is used, while the quince 
is used for dwarling the pear, and many varieties of pears will accept 
the quince root which the apple rejects. 

Stock for Apples. 

Do yon recommend French seedling stock as greatly to be preferred 
to that grozvn in this country? 

French seedling stock is generally used because it is graded and 
furnished in uniform sizes; also, because it can usually be purchased 
for less than seedlings can be grown under our labor conditions. 
Locally grown apple seedlings are apt to be irregular in size and, as 
already stated, cost more than the properly graded imported stock. 



Fruit Growing 25 

Apples and Alfalfa. 

/ have recently conic across a proposition to sozu apple orchards in 
the interior of southern California ivith alfalfa. The apples are said to 
be superior and the crop heavier, to say nothing of a half or tivo-thirds 
of an alfalfa crop in addition to the crop of apples. What do you know 
about it? Is alfalfa being used by others in this way? 

It is perfectly rational to grow alfalfa in fruit orchards if the 
water supply is ample for both the trees and the intercrop and the 
owner will not yield to the temptation to waterlog his trees for the 
sake of getting more alfalfa. It is even more desirable in the interior 
than near the coast, probably. In Arizona some growers have for a 
number of years practiced growing alfalfa in orchards, cutting the 
alfalfa without removing it, counting that clippings are worth more 
to them through their decay and the increase of the humus content 
of the soil. Even where this is not done, the alfalfa will add to the 
humus of the soil by its own wastes both from root and stem. The 
presence of an alfalfa cover reduces the danger of leaf and bark 
burning either by reflected or radiated heat from a smooth ground 
surface, and some trees are very much benefited by this protection 
in regions of high temperature. This might be expected to be the 
case with the apple, which is somewhat subject to leaf burning in 
our interior valleys. 

Top Grafting. 

In grafting over apple and pear trees to some other variety, is it 
advisable to cut off and graft the entire tree the first year zvhere the 
trees are from y to 15 years old, or would it be better to cut off only 
a part of the top the first year and the rest the following year? 

In the coast region it is a good practice to graft over the whole 
tree at one time, cutting, however, above the forks and not into the 
main stem below the forking. This gives many scions which seem 
able to take care of the sap successfully. In the interior valleys, it 
is rather better practice to leave a branch or two, cutting them out 
at the following winter's pruning, for probably the first year's grafts 
will give you branches enough. This has the effect of preventing 
the drowning out of the scions from too strong sap-flow. Cutting 
back and regrafting of old trees should be done rather early, before 
the most active sap-flow begins. The later in the season the grafting 
is done, and the warmer the locality, the more desirable it seems to 
be to leave a branch or two when grafting. 

Apple Budding. 

What is the best time to bud apples? 

Apples are budded in July and August and remain dormant until 
the following spring. 

Mildew on Apple Seedlings. 

Why do young apple plants in the seed bed become mildezved? They 
are in a lath house. 



26 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Because too much moisture was associated with too much shade. 
More sunshine would have prevented mildew, and if they had enjoyed 
it the seedlings could have made better use of the water probably. 

Pruning Apples. 

Young apple trees set two years ago zvere cut back to 14 to iS iiiclics 
and cared for as to loiv branching, proper spacing, etc., but the desired 
branches zvcre allowed to make full grozvth to the present time. They 
have made great grozvth and if allozved to continue zvill make too tall 
trees. 

We understand that your trees have made two summers' growth 
since pruning. We should cut back to a good lateral wherever you 
can find one running at the right direction at about three to four 
feet from the last cut, and shorten the lateral more or less accord- 
ing to the best judgment we could form on sight of the tree. In this 
way you can take out the branches which are running too high and 
make the framework for a lower growth. Do not remove the small 
twigs and spurs unless you have too many such shoots. 

Cutting Back Apples and Pears. 

"California Fruits" says the "apple does not relish cutting back, nor 
is it desirable to shorten in the branches." But zvhen a three-year-old 
tree gets above 12 feet high, as many of mine are doing, what are you 
going to do? I cut these back some last year, but up they go again zvitli 
more branches than ever. The pears are getting too tall, also. Should not 
both apple and pear trees be kept dozvn to about ten feet? 

The quotation you make refers to old bearing trees, and indicates 
that their pruning is not like that of the peach, which is continually 
shortened in to keep plenty of new wood low down. Of course, in 
securing low and satisfactory branching on young apples, pears, etc., 
there must be cutting back, and this must be continued while you are 
forming the tree. If you mean that these trees are to be permanently 
kept at ten feet high, you should have planted trees worked on 
dwarfing stocks. Such a height does not allow a standard tree free- 
dom enough for thrift; as they become older they will require from 
twice to thrice the altitude you assign to them, probably. Pears can 
be more successfully kept down than apples, but not to ten feet ex- 
cept as dwarfs. 

Priming Old Apple Trees. 

Hozv zuould you prune apple trees eight or nine years old that have 
not been cut back? There are a great many that have run up 20 feet 
high with twelve or fifteen main limbs and z'cry fezv being more than 
two or three inches in diameter. 

Remove cross branches which are interfering with others and 
thin out branches which seem to be crowding each other at their at- 
tachments to the trunk, by removing some of them at the starting 
point. Having removed these carefully so as not to knock off spurs 
from other branches, study the tree as it is thus somewhat opened up 



Fruit Growing 27 

and see where remaining branches can be shortened to overcome the 
tendency to run too high. Do not shear off branches leaving a lot 
of stubs in the upper part of the tree, but always cut back a main 
branch to a lateral and shorten the lateral higher up if desirable. 
This will keep away from having a lot of brush in the top of the 
tree. Study each tree by itself for symmetry and balance of branches 
and proceed by judgment rather than by rules anyone can give you. 

Top-Grafting Apples. 

Can I graft over a fczv Ben Dai'is apple trees 25 years old or there- 
abouts, but thrifty and zngorous? 

It is certainly possible, by the old top-grafting method which has 
been used everj^where with apples for centuries. Graft during the 
winter. Work on the limbs above the head so as to preserve the 
advantage of the old forking, using a cleft graft and waxing well. 
It is usually best to graft over a part of the limbs and the balance 
a year later. 

Will the Apples Be the Same Kind? 

/ have a mixed orchard, mostly Gravensteins, and I want to graft 
all the other trees into a Gravcnstein top if I can do so and at the same 
time get the early Gravcnstein bloom and the fruit would be as satisfac- 
tory as though on other roots. 

The new tree grown from the grafts will behave just like the 
tree from which the scions were taken if similarly thrifty. 

Places for Apples. 

What quality is it in the soil in the vicinity of Watsonville that makes 
that country peculiarly adapted to the culture of apples? Are there not 
other portions of the State ivhere apples could be produced on a com- 
mercial basis? 

It is not alone quality in the soil, but character of the climate 
that underlie success in the Watsonville district. Apples can be and 
are grown on a commercial scale through the coast district of Sonoma, 
Mendocino, and Humboldt counties; also in suitable situations in the 
coast counties south of Santa Cruz county. Along the coast, as far 
as deep retentive soil and the cool air of the ocean extend, one may 
expect to get apples similar to those produced in the Watsonville 
district. In the interior valleys, on suitable soils with adequate mois- 
ture, early apples are profitably grown, while in the higher foothill 
and mountain valleys in all parts of the State, where moisture is 
sufificient, late keeping apples of high quality are produced. 

Summer-pruning Apples. 

Will summer priming cause apple trees to bear fruit instead of grow- 
ing so much new zvood? 

Over-growth can be repressed by summer pruning, and if done 
just at the right time bearing is increased and late new growth is 



28 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

avoided, but it is not easy to determine exactly the right time, and it 
has to be fixed according to local conditions of length of growing 
season and growth condition of the tree itself also. It is better for 
some varieties than others, and, in fact, has to be done wisely. A 
summer slashing of apple trees, simply because some one says so, is 
not only expensive, but may do more harm than good. Therefore, 
those inclined to it, should try a few trees at first and note results. 

Grafting Apple Seedlings in Place. 

/ zmnt to plant apple trees for home use. I have an idea to plant 
apple seeds instead of frees: planting three or four seeds for each hill, 
right in the place where I zuould groiv the trees, and select the best one 
to graft on. I will take seed of Belleflcnrs, zvhich are vigorous grotvers. 
What do you think F Will the seed gcnninate readily and when is the 
right time to plant? 

Select plump, well ripened seed, keep them in damp sand until 
the ground begins to get warm in January or February, according to 
location. But such an undertaking will cost you vastly more in time, 
in labor, and waste of land than it would to buy well-grown nursery 
trees budded witli the variety which you desire. Such trees would 
give you practically a uniform lot of trees in your orchard while 
planting seedlings and grafting afterward would give you very irregu- 
lar and for the most part unsatisfactory results — providing you get 
any seeds to grow at all in the open ground, which is doubtful. 

Resistant Apple Roots. 

A few apple trees zvhich are almost dead from ravages of the woolly 
aphis. I am going to dig them out and plant in their places other apple 
trees on woolly aphis-proof root. Will it be necessary to use measures 
to exterminate the zooolly aphis in the old roots or their places in the 
ground before planting nezv trees in the places of the removed trees? 

It is not necessary to undertake to kill aphis in the ground when 
you are planting apple trees on resistant roots. It will give your 
trees a better start to dig large holes, throw out the old soil, and 
fill in with some new soil from another part of the land to be planted, 
but it has been demonstrated that these roots are resistant, no matter 
if planted in the midst of infestation. 

Apples and Cherries for a Hot Place. 

What kind of apple do you think would do best in a dry, hot climate? 
What do you think of the Early Richmond cherry in such a place? 

Apples most likely to succeed in a dry situation are those which 
ripen their fruit very early. The Red Astrachan is on the whole the 
most satisfactory, but there are many places which are altogether 
too dry and hot for any kind of apple. Whether cherries would suc- 
ceed or not you can only tell by trying. Possibly the trees would 
not live through the summer if your soil becomes very dry. The 



Fruit Growing 29 

most hardy cherries are the sour or pic cherries and the Early Rich- 
mond is one of this group. 

Die-back of Apple Trees. 

What causes the death of the top shoots in apple trees? 

New wood is sometimes diseased by mildew, but die-back is 
usually due to two different causes: One, the accumulation of water 
in the soil during the excessive rains of mid-winter; second, the oc- 
currence of low temperatures, including frosts, after the sap has risen. 
Which of these causes operate in a certain case depends, of course, 
upon whether the soil was heavy and inclined to retain standing 
water too long, or whether there were such frosts at about the time 
when the leaves should start. Sometimes, of course, both of these 
conditions worked in the same place; sometimes one and sometimes 
the other, but certainly both of them are capable of causing the 
trouble. There seems to be no specific disease; it is rather a matter 
of unfavorable conditions for growth. 

Storage of Apples. 

We desire to store two or three thousand boxes of apples for three 
or four months and propose to do it in this way: Make an excavation 
in dry earth, putting at the bottom of the excavation straw. Upon this 
straw place the apples, then dry straw over the apples, and upon the top 
of this two or three feet of dry earth. Will it be a good plan to pour 
on zvater from time to time over the top of this to keep the apples and 
all wet, or should the apples be kept dry? 

Putting down loose apples in a straw-lined pit would be very 
expensive. It would invite decay by bruising the fruit, and the result 
would probably be a worthless mixture of rotten fruit and straw. 
The fruit should be stored in boxes or shallow trays to reduce pres- 
sure and promote ventilation, and not in bins or large piles. Apples 
will keep for a long time in good condition if the boxes are put in 
piles in the shade, covered with straw, which should be slightly 
moistened from time to time; but in that case there would not be 
such an accumulation of moisture and there would be ventilation at 
all times. Apples should be kept dry, but they will shrivel and be- 
come unmarketable unless the air in which they are stored is kept 
reasonably moist. This is generally accomplished by making apple 
houses with double walls and roof to exclude heat and with an earth 
or concrete floor which can be sprinkled from time to time with a 
hose. 

Apple Root-grafts. 

/ have an old apple orcJiard and would like to have two or three 
of the best varieties positively identified, so that I can order these kinds 
from the nursery for next year's planting. 

Old California apple orchards have many varieties no longer 
propagated largely. If you greatly desire to have a few trees of 



30 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

exactly the varieties which you are now growing, you run some risk 
of mistake in ordering by name, but if you make some root-grafts 
by taking a piece of the smaller roots of the tree, which you can 
dig out, say about the size of a pencil, and graft scions upon them, 
you can secure root-grafts for planting in nursery this year and in 
that way be sure to have trees of exactly the same kind. Root- 
grafts can be made in the winter, placed in sand which is kept moist 
and not wet, planted out as soon as the ground warms up, and you 
will get immediate and very satisfactory growth in that way. 

Pruning Old Apple Trees. 

/ have an old orchard containing some apple trees about 40 years 
old — trees zvell shaped but with plenty of main branches and limbs all 
very long. The trees bear profusely in alternate years but the fruit is 
small. In pruning ivould you advise cutting out some main limbs where 
there are over three or four and thus making a big ivood reduction 
(where sunburn protection can still be guarded) or ivould you only 
shorten in the branches and thin the fruit severely F 

Do not remove main branches unless they are clearly too numer- 
ous or have been allowed to grow to interference with each other or 
have become weakened or feeble in some way. In such cases the space 
is worth more than the branch. If the tree has a fair framework do 
not disturb it in order to get down to an arbitrary limit of three or 
four main branches; sometimes the tree can carry more. If the tree 
is too thick, thin it out by removing side branches of more or less 
size — saving the best, judging by both vigor and position. Work 
through the whole top in this way until you reach the best judgment 
you can form of enough space and light for good interior foliage and 
fruit. Apple branches should seldom be shortened, and when this 
seems desirable, cut to a side branch and not to a stub which will 
make a lot of weak shoots or brush in the top of the tree. 

Pruning Apple Trees. 

There is a great difference of opinion here regarding the pruning of 
three-year or older apple trees. Many people cut back three, four and 
iive-year-old trees half the season's growth; others only cut back si.v 
inches. 

Apple trees are cut back during their early life to cause branch- 
ing and to secure short distances between the larger laterals on the 
main branches. This secures a lower, stronger tree. Cutting back 
twice or three times should secure a good framework of this kind, 
and then the apple should not be regularly and systematically cut 
back as the peach and apricot are. It is not possible to prescribe 
definite inches, because cutting back is a matter of judgment and de- 
pends upon how thick the growth is, what its position and relation 
to other shoots, etc. The chief point in cutting back is to know 
where you wish the next laterals to come on the shortened shoot, and 
if you do not wish more laterals at once, do not cut back at all. 



Fruit Growing 31 

Treatment of laterals which come of themselves is another matter. 
Do not clip the ends of shoots unless laterals are desired. If you 
keep clipping the ends of apple twigs, you will get no fruit from some 
varieties. 

Grafting Almond on Peach. 

/ had good success with the peach trees which I grafted to almond 
last spring, getting about 95 per cent of a stand, and many of the grafts 
now are one and one-half inches diameter. In each of the trees I left 
about a quarter of the branches, to keep up the growing process of the 
tree. The universal practice around here in grafting is to cut the whole 
top off the tree at the time of grafting, but the increased growth and 
vigor of the grafts I have has proved to me and other growers around, 
that much better results are obtained by leaving part of the top on the 
tree at the time of grafting. 

You did exceedingly well with your grafting. It seems a more 
rational way to proceed than by a total amputation, and yet ample 
success is often attained by grafting for a whole new top at once. 

Pruning Almonds. 

Should the main branches be shortened in a three-year-old almond 
tree? Of course, I intend to thin out the branches. Some growers here 
advise me to shorten the main branches; others say do not shorten them, 
as it tends to give the trees a brushy top. 

Although some growers are contending for regular shortening-in 
of the almond as is practiced on the peach, it is not usual to cut 
back almond trees after they have reached three years of age and 
have assumed good form. Of course, if cutting back is done, the 
shoots coming from near the amputation must be thinned out to 
prevent the brushiness your adviser properly objected to. 

Budding and Grafting Almonds. 

Is it better to bud or graft bitter almond seedlings of one year's 
growth, and, as they must be transplanted, ivould it be proper to do the 
work this season or defer it for another year's growthf 

Your almond seedlings should have been budded in July or August 
after starting from the nut, which would have fitted them for planting 
in orchard the following winter as dormant buds, as they cannot stay 
where they are another season. Now you can transplant to nursery 
rows in another place: cut back and graft as the buds are swelling, 
allowing a good single shoot to grow from below on those which do 
not start the grafts into which you can bud in June, and cut back the 
stock to force growth as soon as the buds have taken. In this way 
you will get the whole stock into trees for planting out next winter. 
Some will be large and some small, but all will come through if planted 
in good soil and cared for properly. Of course, you can plant out the 
seedlings and graft and bud in the orchard, but it will be a lot of 
trouble and you will get very irregular results. 



32 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Cutting Back Almonds. 

/ have some nice thrifty two-year-old almond trees zvhich I did not 
"top" this spring. The limbs are from about four to seven or eight feet 
long. Would it not be best to "top" them yet? 

Cut them back to a shoot of this year's growth, removing about 
a third of last year's growth, perhaps. This will give you lower and 
better branching. 

Almond Planting. 

/ am contemplating the planting of about five to eight acres of almonds: 
what variety is best to plant? 

Before planting so many almonds, you should determine how 
satisfactory the almond is in bearing in your location. Unless you 
can find satisfactory demonstration of this fact, it is hazardous to 
plant such an acreage. On the other hand, if you find that almonds 
are bearing satisfactorily, the kinds which are perhaps most satisfac- 
tory to plant are Nonpareil, Texas Prolific, Ne Plus Ultra and Drake's 
Seedling. The Texas Prolific and Drake's Seedling are abundant 
bearers and profitable because of the size of the crop, although the 
price is lower than the soft-shelled varieties. Nonpareil and Ne Plus 
Ultra. These two varieties are such energetic pollinizers that they 
not only bear well themselves, but force the bearing of the larger 
varieties mentioned. Every third row in your plantation should be 
either Texas Prolific or Drakes' Seedlings, which would give you 
two-thirds of the larger varieties and one-third of the smaller. There 
are, of course, other soft-shelled almonds which are worth planting 
and are being considerably planted in localities where they do well. 
This you can ascertain by inquiry among local growers and nursery- 
men. The planting of a good proportion of active pollinizers is the 
most important point. 

Almond Pollination. 

My almond trees look healthy but the fruit seems to be diseased. Is 
it necessary to have male and female trees, and hozv can one distinguish 
them? 

The almond is monoecious and has perfect blossoms, therefore, 
there is no such thing as male and female trees in the case of the 
almond, but most of the best soft-shelled almonds are self-sterile and 
need cross-pollination from another variety. This is discussed else- 
where in answer to another question. 

Roots for the Almond. 

Which is the best root to have the almond grafted on, peach or bitter 
almond? The soil is sandy. 

The bitter almond and the hard-shelled sweet almond are both 
used and we are not aware that any particular advantage has been 
demonstrated for either of them. The almond does well on peach 
roots also, but the almond is a better root where the soil conditions 
suit it. 



Fruit Growing 33 

Longevity of Almond and Peach. 

What is difference in life of peach and almond in California? 

The almond is the longer-lived, but we have seen both assuming 
the aspect of forest trees in abandoned pioneer places. Both are apt 
to live longer than their planters, if soil and moisture conditions favor. 

Almond Seedlings. 

/ have been told that almond trees raised from seed, no matter what 
kind of seed planted, zvill produce bitter almonds. Is this a fact? 

It is not a fact. The majority will probably be hard-shell, sweet 
and bitter, but others will be soft-shell, medium-shell, paper-shell, 
and everything else you ever heard of in the almond line. The almond 
has the sportiest kind of seedlings. 

Do Not Plant Almonds in Place. 

/ have 30 acres zvhich I intend to plant to almonds and peaches, 
and I thought of planting the sprouted nuts and pits where I wanted my 
trees, and budding the same there in orchard fortn. As one or tivo years' 
use of the land is not considered, ivhat is your advice? My idea is to 
plant in orchard at start so as not to disturb roots, as when grown in 
nursery and transplanted in orchard. Would it not progress as rapidly? 
Would you advise budding peaches on almond roots; if not, why? My 
idea is that it zvould give a longer-lived tree. 

We would do nothing of the kind. If we decided it better to 
grow trees than to buy them, we would grow and bud the seedlings 
in nursery and not in the field. Field budding is open to all kinds 
of injuries and growth from it, when saved from cultivation and all 
kinds of intruders, is irregular and uncertain. As for starting the roots 
from the nut in place, it is largely a fanciful consideration. We count 
it no gain for the walnut which makes a tap root, and still less gainful 
for the almond and peach, which usually make spreading roots. To 
cut of? a tap root does not prevent the tree from rooting deeply if 
the soil is favorable. As to use of the land, you lose time by growing 
the seedlings in place. The peach does well on the almond root 
if soil conditions favor the almond. Perhaps it gives longer life to the 
peach, but the profitable life of the peach tree in a proper soil does 
not depend on the root; it depends upon the treatment of the top in 
pruning for renewal of branches. 

Almond and Peach. 

With livter-table at iS feet, ivhich root is best for almond trees? 
The experience around here is that the peach root starts best. Which 
root is most durable? What is the life of the peach root and of the 
almond? 

It is not merely a question of depth to water, but of character of 
the soil above the water. Neither of the roots will stand heavy soil 



34 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

which holds water too long, and both enjoy a free loam which drains 
readily down to the water-table or bottom water. If the soil is rather 
sandy, letting the water down very quickly, the almond is better in 
getting to it than the peach. If it is finer and still well drained the 
peach will do well, and the almond enjoys that also. The almond 
probably can be counted on to stand coarser soil and greater drouth 
than the peach and under such conditions will outlive the peach, 
probably, but both of them will live twenty to thirty years or more 
if pruned in the head to get enough new wood and the trunk is kept 
from sunburn. Aside from this choose the almond root for the almond. 

Pollination of Almonds. 

/ have Drake's Seedling almonds. Some people have told me that 
I must plant some hardshell variety betzvccn them, otherunse they will 
not bear. 

It is not necessary to plant hardshell almonds near Drake's Seed- 
ling trees in order to have them bear. Some varieties of almonds 
will set few nuts unless they are cross-pollinated, but these are the 
paper-shell varieties, as a rule — the Nonpareil, IXL and Ne Plus Ultra 
— and for these the Drake's Seedling or Texas Prolific is planted as a 
pollenizer. The highest-priced nut of all is the Nonpareil, and it is 
also a good bearer when in a good location and planted with Drake's 
or Texas Prolific. 

Stick-tight Almonds. 

/ have leased seven acres of bearing almond trees which have the ap- 
pearance of being reasonably ivcll cared for. I notice a few trees that 
still have almonds on ("stick-tights"). What is the cause and remedy? 

The occurrence of stick-tights is generally due to lack of moisture 
and thrifty growth, although some trees may be weak from some 
other cause and therefore deficient in sap-flow, which manifests itself 
in that way. Single nuts may also fall into that condition of mal- 
nutrition. We know no remedy except to keep the trees in good 
thrift by cultivation or by the use of irrigation if necessary. 

Shy-bearing Apricots. 

Why do my apricot trees not bring fruit? They seem healthy and are 
vigorous-looking trees. Five large trees have not borne wo pounds of 
fruit in three years. The trees are not over six years old. 

You may have a shy-bearing kind of apricot, of which there are 
many, or the trees may have grown too fast to hold the fruit, or the 
frost or north wind may have blasted the bloom. Stop winter pruning, 
and summer prune to prevent excessive growth; reduce irrigation; 
try to convince the apricot that it is not a "green bay tree" and see 
what will happen. 

Pruning Apricots. 

In pruning apricots, if there should be a hollow center of a big branch 
in center of a seven-year-old tree, should it be cut out with summer prun- 



Fruit Growing 35 

mgf Should heavy grozuing apricots be summer pruned? Would it he 
all right to thin out a dense groivth of zvood in the prune trees in Sep- 
tember? 

It is always desirable to cut below a hollow in a limb if possible. 
Where, however, this would necessitate cutting below the desirable 
laterals, the cavity may be filled with cement and thus rendered ser- 
viceable for some years. Summer pruning of the apricot is desirable 
if the growth is heavy and the tree has reached a bearing age. Thin- 
ning out of prune trees can be undertaken in the autumn, providing 
the tree has practically finished its growth, as indicated by the change 
in the color and pose of the leaves. 

Apricot Propagation. 

Can Royal apricots be grafted into seedling apricots? Do the scions 
do zvell? What is the best time to graft them? 

The apricot is grafted readily by the ordinary cleft grafting, 
amputating above the forks if the tree is low-headed enough to allow 
you to work into the limbs instead of the trunk. Grafts will take all 
right in the trunk by bark grafting, but working in smaller limbs makes 
a stronger tree. This is for old trees and the grafting is done during 
the winter. Younger seedlings can be cleft or whip grafted in the 
stems, but it is better to bud into the young seedlings with plump 
buds of the current year's growth, in June, and by shortening in the 
seedling above the buds as soon as they have taken, get a growth 
on the bud in the latter half of the same growing season. In nursery 
practice, trees are usually made by budding in July or August into 
seedlings which are then growing from the seed planted the previous 
winter. Little seedlings from under old trees may be carefully trans- 
planted to nursery rows in the spring and budded the same summer. 
Cultivated well and irrigated if necessary, they will not suffer from this 
transplanting. 

Renewing Old Apricots. 

Shall I prune back heavily a 15 to 20-year-old apricot tree zvhich did 
not mature its fruit this season, I think on account of neglect? It was 
very poorly cultivated and not irrigated, consequently looks very sick. 

Cut back all the main branches to six or eight feet from the 
ground, leaving on whatever small growth there may be below that 
height. Paint the stubs and thin out the shoots next summer to get 
the right number of new branches properly distributed. Whether you 
will get a good renewal of the head depends upon whether the sick- 
ness is in the root or not. Cut back just before the buds swell toward 
the end of the dormant season. 

Summer Pruning of Apricots. 

Is it feasible to prune five-year-old apricot trees in August? They 
seetn in good grozvth and have been irrigated three times this season, 
though they have never been pruned very closely. 



36 



OnK TllOUSANII Ql'KSTIONS IN AcKUUl.TUKl': 



SiiiiiimT priinini; would lie lu'il'i'clly proiuT and advisable. 
Siimnur piuiiiii.L; iiiiiiuilialily alli'i' llir I'ruil is i)irk(.'d, lias hocomc 
inucli iiioic m'lUMal, and wiiilci- piiniiiij; lias proportioiiati'ly dc- 
crcasi'il. ^'oiiiig Iters aic wiiiUr pniiud l(» iirdmolc low hraiudiinj; 
and short, sloul liiiihs; lirariiiL; Irrcs arc siiiunuT |MiiiU'd to pfoniotc 
fniil l)oarin>;- and idirrk wood ^idwlli llir excess of hiMriiig slu)ots 
bi'iiig vi'iiioxcd liy lliiiiiiiiif; diirin.L; tlu' wiiilcr. 

Wild Cherries. 

U'lirrr ilc thr Mtilitih'h and ]la::::;iinl flii-rrirs .c'dTt' iialiiraUy' Ifo7V 
loi'i^t- arc the tires, and i^'luit kind of fniil dt> tliry bair .' 

Tlu- Maz/anls, of which ihoro arc many, and some of them 
wild in the I'".aslern Stales, are connted inferior seetllings of the 
species avium, .'ind are tall, larvae trees, the frnit heinj^- small and 
rather acrid and icdms various. The Mahaleb is ;i luiropean type 
willi a smaller Itec, fruit inferior to the Ma/.zarils, and used as a 
root under soil and climatic ccmditions under wdiieh the Mazzard 
is not liard>' and vis^orinis. Neither of the kinds are worth con- 
sideriiii; for their fruit. 

Pruning Cherries. 

/ Ihivc sonic i-lirrry Ircis that liavc not been /uinii-d. Thry arr beau- 
tiful tnrs. but it a ycquircs a J-i-fool hiddcr to .i;<7 near the fof> limbs. The 
side linil's reach from tree to tree. Tlicy had a sl^lcudid erof^ this year. 
/'«•('/'/(• //iT<' tell me nerer to f^runc cherry trees. ();;<• nian ^cho claims 
considerable c.v/'criciice icitli fruit says f^rune them as soon as the crop is 
off. 

^'our cherry trees should have hecu pruned for the first two 
or three years tpiite sexeiely, in order to secure hetter branching 
and strenj;th in the main branches. If this is done, ;uul the trees 
come into full beariiii;. very little pruning has to be done after- 
ward, except removing diseased, interfering or surplus branches, 
il llieie are too m.\n\. It is perfectly safe to cut back the trees 
which you now have as you lia\e been adviseil to d(\ after the leaves 
liave f.illen or after they have begun to tmn yellow. The trees 

can be salelv toppeil and thinned, for the clierr\- accepts pruning 
1:1.. " 1.- , : I 1,1 ,• . 1 " i . 1 1 . ,!^. 



lape of the trees. 
Training Cherry Grafts. 



Training Cherry Grafts. 

/ have ,^rafted a lot of seedling clierrics, /(•(/.■■//;,;,' two or three buds 01 
each piece of {grafted n'ood. In plantini;; these out. shall I put the union 



Fkuit Growing 37 

wider 'ground (they arc i^niftcd al the croivn of the root) and shall I 
loosen the cloth a little later when they start to }>roiv? Iloiv can I get 
the head for the tree? Should I let only one shoot form, and when it is 
as liigh as I «'(/»/ it, cut it off as I would a tree gotten from a nursery? 

If you Ikivc used waxed clotli in your grafting, it will be neces- 
sary to loosen it after the tree gets a good start. Common unwaxcd 
cloth could he trusted to decay soon enough, prohahly, but it should 
be looked at to sec that it is not binding. The union should not 
be placed much below the ground surface, although it can be safely 
covered, and the future stem may look the better for it. One shoot 
could be allowed to grow from each graft, choosing the best ones 
and pinching the others so that they will stop extension and hold 
leaves during the first season. These can be cleanly removed at the 
first winter pruning at the time you head back the main shoot to 
the proper height. 

Restoring Cherry Trees. 

/ have about tzvo acres of cherry trees in Sonoma county said to he 
about 20 years old. They are in a very neglected condition and I am 
desirous of putting them in good shape for next year's crop. They are in 
a very light sandy loam soil which is easily zvorkcd. 

Clicrry trees under good growing conditions and proper care are 
very long lived in California and bear abundant crops when thirty and 
more years of age. In the San Jose district and elsewhere there are 
orchards considerably older than the limit stated and arc still very 
profitable. If your trees have been so neglected that the branches 
have died back, the trees should be pruned, of course, cutting out all dead 
wood and shortening weak or dying branches to a point where a good 
strong shoot can be found. Tlicn a good application of farmyar<l 
manure plowed in during the rainy season, followed by summer cul- 
tivation for moisture retention. Although the cherry is very hardy, 
it is quite likely to suffer on light soils wiiich become too dry. On 
such soils as yours there is little if any danger of loo much water in 
the winter, unless the land lies low, but the injury to the tree comes 
from the lack of moisture during the summer time, and this, with 
your abundant rainfall, you can probably assure l)y thorough summer 
cultivation. 

Renewing Cherry Trees. 

We have cherry trees set out diamond shape about i6 feet apart. We 
cannot take out every other tree and have any order, so zve ask you if 
it ivoidd be possible to cut the trees back and keep them pruned dozmi to 
a smaller sise. The trees are about 20 years old and arc dying back quite 
badly. 

If the trees are dying for lack of summer moisture it is idle to 
do much for them until you can give them irrigation right after the 
fruit ripens. The cherry tree takes kindly to cutting back and will 
give good new fruit-l)earing shoots if the roots arc in good condition. 
It is desirable to remove surplus branches entirely rather than to cut 
back everything to a definite height, the branches to be removed being 



38 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

those which show disposition to die back and those which are running 
out too far so as to reduce the space between the trees or to interfere 
with branches from other trees. Branches which are failing above 
can in some cases be cut back to a strong thrifty hiteral branch below. 
Shortoning-in branches high up is less desirable because it forces out 
too much new growth in the top of the tree and carries the fruit so 
high that picking would be expensive. All cuts of any size sliouUl be 
painted to prevent the wood from checking. 

Pruning Cherries. 

/ hare cherry trees in their third season zvhich have been given the 
usual winter pnininii. The trees are putting forth a great many more 
branches than are required, and naturally )na)iy of the branches are groov- 
ing across the tree. In cutting these extra branches, I am informed that 
there is a way to trim them so thai tJiey tc/// eventually form fruit spurs. 
I had an idea that in order to do tliis it wotild be ovell to cut about one 
inch from the main branch. Some one lias told me that this would merely 
cause the little branch to sprout again. 

Cherry shoots which are not required or desired for branch- 
forming can be transferred into fruit spurs, if the tree is of bearing 
age, by shortening them in. Do not, however, cut at an arbitrary 
distance of one inch from the starting point, but rather save one or 
two buds at whatever distance from the starting point these may be 
growing. If the tree is too young to bear, only growth shoots may 
appear from these buds, but they are likely to be short and will 
support fruit spurs later. This practice should not be carried to 
excess or you will have too many small shoots which will not get 
light enough to boar good fruit, even if fruit spurs should appear. 

Pollination of Black Tartarian. 

There are many old Tartarian cherry trees around our district that 
Iiai'c only borne a feov cherries in years. There are I^ing, Royal Ann and 
Early Purple Guignes here "with these, but they seldom, if ez'cr, bloom zvitli 
the Tartarian at the proper time to pollinate. IVhat 7'arieties would cause 
the trees to bear? 

Sterility of the Black Tartarian is rather unusual. In the coast 
regions, Bing, Black Tartarian and Early Purple Guigne are all con- 
sidered pollinizers for the Royal Ann. Inversely all these should 
be pollinizers for the Black Tartarian, if that variety requires such 
assistance, which we have all along supposed that it did not. 

Treatment of Fig Suckers. 

A fczv young fig trees are not grozving from the tops, but arc sending 
out suckers, in some cases aboz'e and others belozv the point of grafting. 
Had I better let these suchcrs grow and see zvhat comes front them or 
plant nezv trees? 

Graft near the ground all those which are sending suckers from 
below the graft. Suckers from above grafting point can be trained 



Fruit Growing 39 

into trees by selecting the best, tying to stakes to straighten up 
and removing all other suckers but the one selected. 

No Gopher-proof Fig Roots. 

Is it necessary that figs should be grafted in some other roots to 
keep the gophers from destroying the trees? What root should I order? 

Figs are not grown on any other than fig roots and are generally 
propagated by rooted cuttings for the purpose of avoiding the ex- 
pense of grafting. The fruit must then be protected by killing the 
gophers rather than by an effort to get the tree upon a gopher- 
proof root. 

Pollination of Bartletts. 

Would Clapp's Favorite he a good polliniacr for the Bartlett as 
well as the White Doyenne? 

The white Doyenne and the Clapp's Favorite usually begin to 
bloom three or four days later than the Bartlett, but the Bartlett 
period extends about ten days into the blooming period of the 
others. Therefore, your question is to be answered in the affirmative; 
that is, if the Bartlett needs pollination, it will be liklcy to get it 
from either of these varieties. 

Cornice Pears. 

Would you plant Cornice pears instead of Bartletts, and why? What 
is their behavior as to bearing? Do they require any different treatment 
than Bartletts? What roots? Do they need other varieties for pollinizing? 

Do not plant Comice instead of Bartletts except for those who 
have tested out the Comice to their production and selling. Though 
satisfactory in some places, it makes no such wide record of success 
as the Bartlett and should be planted only on the basis of experience 
with it. Its propagation and culture are the same as other pears. 
It takes to the quince all right if you want dwarf trees. We have 
no record of its pollination needs, but as the Bartlett in California 
defies its Eastern reputation for self-sterility, it is likely that Comice 
may also take care of itself, for it is not handicapped by such Eastern 
condemnation. 

No Pears on Peach. 

/ .raw, the other day, some Bartlett pear grafts in Salway peach trees, 
and the party informed me that he had seen three-year-old grafts that had 
pears last season. I zvould like your opinion, as I ahmys thought that such 
a union was not possible. 

Our opinion is like yours, and seeing some pear grafts set in 
peach branches would not convince us that they would grow or bear 
fruit. 

Pigs in the Orchard. 

/ have an orchard of Bartlett pears about fifteen years old, located 
on sediment land. I desire to set this to alfalfa, and to feed the 



40 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

alfalfa by letting hogs cat it off, thereby leaving the droppings on the 
land. What I zvish to knozv is this: Will this crop be beneficial or in- 
jurious to the trees? 

Alfalfa can be successfully grown in an orchard, providing you 
have irrigation water so that the alfalfa shall not rob the trees of 
moisture ; otherwise it is a very dangerous practice. The practice 
of running animals of any kind in an orchard is to be condemned. 
Pigs are ijarticularly liable to injure trees by gnawing the bark, and 
we have seen fig trees barked clean as high as a pig could reach 
by standing on his hind legs. Of course, if you try an experiment 
for your own satisfaction, you will have to watch the pigs very 
carefully. It is true that growing pasture crops in an orchard and 
grazing it off is injurious to trees, because the land lacks proper 
aeration, and good orchard cultivation is even more necessary in 
this State than in humid climates. Therefore, unless you are sure 
of a good water supply for irrigation, it would be altogether safer 
to give the whole land to the trees and keep them cultivated well, or 
else dig out the trees and use the land for other purposes. 

Dwarf Pears Not Commercially Grown. 

Will you kindly give the experience of pear growers in California zvho 
have groivn the dwarfs? If you can give mc the data or refer me to 
persons zvho can give data shozving that the grozuing of dznarf pears can 
be made a commercial success the information zwll be of great value. 

There is no commercial growing of dwarf pears in this State, 
except some trees owned by the A. Block Company, Santa Clara. 
The late Mr. Block had an old orchard of dwarf trees, planted per- 
haps forty or lifty years ago, which he converted into an approach 
to a standard orchard by removing alternate rows, and the trees 
being otherwise treated like standards have been satisfactorily pro- 
ducing pears for many years. How far these trees are still on the 
dwarf roots and how far they have supplied themselves with roots 
from the variety growth above, we do not know. There is no dis- 
position whatever to plant dwarf trees in this State except among 
a few amateurs who are making home fruit gardens. In view of the 
successful growth of standard trees in this State, there seem to be 
no adc(|uatc reasons for recourse to dwarf trees. 

Yield in Drying Pears. 

11' hat is the loss of zccigltt in drying Ihirtlett pears? 

They run from 7 to 8 lbs. of fresh pears to 1 lb. hard dried. 
There is quite wide variation according to condition of the fruit. 
Probably about 7K' to 1 would be as near a realizable ratio as you 
could get by arbitrary estimate. 

Pear Problems. 

Kindly let mc knozv the advisability of grafting Bartlett pears onto 
apple trees. In replanting pears in young orchard, hozv zvould it do to 



Fruit Growing 41 

take rooted pear suckers, graft the Bartletf on them, and save the cost of 
nursery stock? Last year viy Hve-year-old Bartlett orchard zvas full of 
blossoms, but, though many pears became as large as zvhitc bcatis, the 
majority of them dropped. 

The pear and apple do not make a good union. The grafts may 
grow for a while, but finally fail. Do not use suckers as stocks. 
You can dig up some year roots and use them as starters by making 
root-grafts with Bartlett scions and do better than with suckers, 
but a good pear seedling is the proper thing either for budding or 
root grafting. Unless you have some experience in such work, it 
will be cheaper in the end to buy good nursery trees. The non- 
bearing of your young trees is probably due to their youth and 
vigor. 

Bees and Pear Blight. 

A few years ago, I planted alfalfa betzveen my pear trees and the 
trees bore a very heavy crop that year. Then blight made its appearance, 
and it zvas claimed that the bees carried the blight. I therefore plozvcd 
under the alfalfa and destroyed zvhat fezv beehives I had. If the theory 
that the bees carry the blight from tree to tree is not correct, I zvill ex- 
periment with alfalfa again this year. 

It is true that bees carry pear blight. It is also true that you 
are not likely to get many pears without bees to pollinate the blos- 
soms. You cannot escape the carriage of the pear blight by re- 
moving tame bees, because wild bees are abundant in all parts of 
the State. The way to overcome the blight is to pursue it by ampu- 
tation of diseased branches continually, so that there may be no 
contamination for the bees to carry. You are certainly warranted 
in continuing your alfalfa growing without regard to this question, 
using water enough to keep the alfalfa growing well without satur- 
ating the soil to the injury of the trees or inducing too much summer 
growth on them. 

Forage Under Sprayed Trees. 

Is it safe to use arsenical sprays in a pear orchard in zdiicJi alfalfa is 
raised between the trees and afterzvard cut and fed to cattle? 

It was fully demonstrated by experiment about 25 years ago 
that herbage under trees sprayed with paris green at the rate of 1 
pound to 160 gallons of water was not injurious to animals pasturing 
upon it. We are not aware that such an experiment has been made 
with tlie more recently used arsenates — which can be used with a 
much higher amount of arsenic to the gallon because they do not 
injure the foliage — to determine whether the herbage below would 
be poisonous or not. Presumably not, because modern spraying 
does not admit as much loss from run-ofif as was the case with old 
spraying methods. 

Pears on Quince. 

/ sazv some time ago a report of some French experiments in grafting 
the pear onto quince root. The report said the fruit produced zcas much 
larger than on any other root. 



42 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Most of our common pears will take readily when grafted on 
ihc quince, but the quince transforms them into dwarfed trees. 
Such trees do produce, with proper care, very fine fruit. The re- 
mark about their being better than on standard trees refers, how- 
ever, to other climates than ours, for California grows just as large 
pears on standard trees as can possibly be grown, while where con- 
ditions are harder the higher culture of the dwarf tree and the 
protection which it requires from climatic hardships, gives the dwarf 
tree the advantage. You can get pears on quince roots from most 
of our California nurseries. 

Pollination of Pears. 

Is it necessary in grozving the Cornice pear successfuUy, to put some 
other pear near for the purpose of pollination in order to make it suc- 
cessful? Will the ordinary Bartlctt pear do for pollination? 

The Cornice pear blooms with the Bartlett, and would there- 
fore presumably be of pollinizing benefit to the Bartlett if the latter 
should require such treatment. Common experience in California, 
however, is that the Bartlett is self-fertile and not self-sterile as it 
is commonly reported in Eastern publications. California practice 
is, then, to plant Bartletts solidly without reference to preparation 
for pollination. Taking the matter the other way around, the Bart- 
lett will do for pollination of the Comice probably, if that should 
be necessary. 

Lye-Peeling Peaches. 

Please give the formula for peeling peaches by dipping them in caustic 
soda or lye. 

Lye for peeling peaches is used at the rate of half to one pound 
to the gallon of water, according to the strength of the lye, which 
you can determine by the quickness with which it acts. The lye 
water is kept boiling, and the fruit is dipped in wire baskets, only 
being allowed to remain in the lye a few seconds, and is then plunged 
at once into fresh water. You must be careful to keep the lye 
boiling hot, also either to use running water for rinsing or change 
it very frequently, for you have to rely on fresh water to remove 
the lye, or the fruit is likely to be stained. 

Aged Peach Trees. 

What should be done -n'ith peach trees 3$ years old ivhich are becoming 
unthrifty, bearing only at the ends of the limbs, etc.? 

Old peach trees become bark-bound and need to be cut back 
to just above the crotch for the forcing out of new branches, this 
being facilitated, of course, by application of manure, good cultiva- 
tion of the soil, use of water during tlie dry season, etc. The peach 
is, under most conditions, not a long-lived tree, and if your trees 
are 35 years of age, it is probable that best results could be obtained 
by grubbing them out and replanting with young trees on new soil 



Fruit Growing ^ 43 

if possible. The profitable life of the Eastern peach tree is put 
down at five or six years. In California the profitable life of the 
peach sometimes reaches twenty or more years, if growing under 
exceptionally good conditions; but 35 years would seem to be at 
least on the borders of decrepitude. Growing at the tips shows 
that you have not pruned annually to induce the growth of new 
wood lower down. 

Renewing Peach Orchard. 

Which is the best luay to rcnezv an old peach orchard? The trees are 
about i8 years old, Muirs and Fosters, and are yielding good crops, but 
some of the trees shozv decline. Is it best to replace the old ones zvith 
new trees or to plant a nezv orchard in betzveen the old trees and cut out 
old ones zvhen nezv trees are three or four years old? 

If the trees have sound bodies and are not badly injured by sun- 
burn borers, do none of the things you mention, but would cut back 
for a new head. Cutting back should be done during the latter 
half of the dormant period and thinning of shoots to proper balance 
a new head should be carefully done the following winter. It is a 
hard job to get young trees to start among old trees and you are 
apt to get a mixed lot of trees which you will not be proud of. 
Cut back as suggested or rip out, plow deeply and start anew, placing 
the rows midway between the old rows. 

Will He Have Peaches? 

/ have a young orchard betiveen iiz!e and six years old, mostly of the 
Lovell variety. I didn't have much of a crop this year. Should I have a 
good crop next year? 

You ought to be able to tell now how full a set of fruit buds you 
have. If you do not know what the fruit buds are, ask some neigh- 
bor who knows peaches to point them out. If you have a good show of 
fruit buds, the question in California is not whether they will winter- 
kill or not, but whether the leaves held late enough the preceding 
summer and therefore the tree had strength enough to make good 
strong fruit buds. The late action of the leaves shows that the 
trees had enough autumn moisture. You will soon learn to recog- 
nize the condition also from the plumpness of the wood which carries 
the fruit buds. If all has gone well so far, the next point is to 
spray with the bordeaux mixture in November or December so that 
the new wood shall not be attacked by the peach blight or shot- 
hole fungus. This disease comes on early in the winter, sets the 
the new bark to gumming and endangers the crop. Then if you 
have San Jose scale, or if your trees showed much curl-leaf last 
spring, you ought to spray before the blossom buds show color with 
the )ime-sulphur wash. Supposing that you have good buds now 
and are willing to protect them as suggested, your trees may be 
expected to come through with a good crop if seasonal moisture 
conditions are right. 



44 One Thohsanp Questions in Agriculture 

Peach Fillers in Apple Orchard. 

/ have heard some talk against planting peach fillers in an apple 
orchard. What is yoiii- opinion on the subject:' 

There is no olijcction providing the peach is profitahle in the 
locality; and tliat point j'on must look into. The peach trees will 
not injure the apples unless they are allowed to stand too long. 
In that case they would interfere with the development of the apple. 

Grafting Peach on Almond. 

May I expect to get good results by grafting so)ne hind of peach 
to i(^-ycar-old almond tree? If so, what kind of peach ivill be best? 
When shall I do grafting? 

Peaches take to the almond all right. Cut off and graft in the 
hranches above the main forking of the tree; leaving at least one 
large branch to be grafted later or to be cut out entirely if you 
have peach growth enough to fill the top sufficiently. Graft in any 
kind of peach you find to be worth growing. Graft toward the latter 
part of the dormant season, say when the buds are swelling for a 
new start. 

Peaches on Apricot. 

/ luwc a three-year-old peach orchard grafted or budded on apricot 
roots, and interspersed through the orchard arc young apricot trees, 
from half-inch to inch and a half in diameter, zvhich sprang from the 
root, the peach bud or graft having died. I budded these over to peaches 
in summer, but the buds all died for some cause. What is now the 
best course to trans f or tn them into peach trees? If a graft, ivhat form 
of graft, and approximately zvhen should it be made? 

You can graft peach scions into the apricot sprouts by taking 
the peach scions of the varieties you desire while the tree is per- 
fectly dormant, keeping them in a cool place and putting in the 
grafts just as the buds are beginning to swell on the apricot stock. 
The scions can be buried in the earth in the shade of a fence or 
building, selecting a place, however, which is moist enough and yet 
where the water does not gather. The ordinary form of top grafting 
in stems an inch or more in diameter will work well. The half-inch 
stems can be whip-grafted successfully. You will have to wax well 
and see that the wax coating is kept sound until the growth starts. 

Replanting After Root-knots. 

In digging out sonic old peach trees. I find noz<.> and then a tree 
affected with root knot. I am burning the root, of course, but as these 
trees are scattered in the orchard, I zuish to plant young trees in same 
locations, thus preserving the rozvs. Can nezv stock be safely put in the 
earth from zvhich the old tree is removed? If treatment of the soil is 
essential, zvhat is recommended? 

Dig a good large hole, removing the earth, and fill with new earth 
from between the rows, and in this way healthy growth ought to be 



Fruit Growing 45 

obtained, although there is always a disposition in some trees to put 
on knots. They should be looked at from time to time and all those 
affecting the larger stem should be removed and the wound painted 
with bordeaux mixture. 

Buds in Bearing Trees. 

In budding over soinr old peach trees, should I cut away the branch 
above the bud when the latter seems to have taken? 

The sap flow to the upper part of the branch should be checked 
by part girdling or by part breaking or bending the top above the 
bud, after the bud is seen to have set or taken. Do not remove the 
whole top until the growth on the bud has started out well or else 
you will "drown it" with excessive sap flow. 

Pollen Must Be of the Same Kind. 

Do peaches, nectarines and apricots set fruit with the pollen of 
one another, and are the various peaches, nectarines and apricots self- 
sterile, or will most kinds set fruit zvith their own pollen? 

We do not count upon pollination between different kinds of 
fruit. Most fruits are self-fertile, else we could not attain the 
practical results we do, because it is only in the planting of almonds, 
cherries, pears and apples that any regard is paid to the association 
of varieties for that cross-fertilization. Some fruits are more apt 
to be self-fertile in this State than in other States where the grow- 
ing conditions are not so favorable. 

Peach Budding. 

Which is easier zvith the peach, grafting or budding? 

The peach is rather a difiicult tree to graft, and budding, on 
the other hand, is quite easy. You can bud into new shoots of this 
season's growth in July, and, if necessary, you can improve the 
slipping of the bark by irrigation a few days before budding. Buds 
can also be successfully placed in June in the old bark of the peach, 
providing it is not too old. For this select well-matured buds from 
the larger shoots and use rather a larger shield than in working 
into new shoots. When the buds are seen to have taken, the top growth 
beyond it can be reduced gradually and some new growth forced on the 
buds the same season, if the sap flow continues as it might be expected 
to do on young trees well cared for. 

Grafting on the Peach. 

Will pears do to graft on the peach, or will plums do zvell on the 
peach? Hozv soon ought they to bear zvhen grafted on the peach which 
is past three years old? 

Pears cannot be grafted on peaches. Plums generally do well 
on the peach, and if the grafts are taken from bearing trees, should 
come into fruit the second season. The peach is more difiicult to 



46 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

graft than other fruit trees, because of the drying back of the bark. 
Be extra careful in the waxing and be sure that the waxing remains 
good until the growth starts out well the following summer. 

Young Trees Failing to Start. 

Some peach and almond trees set out last spring lived, but made no 
growth. Should they be replaced zvith nczv stock? If not, what may 
be expected of them? 

If your inactive trees have good plump dormant buds (though 
they may not be large buds), they may make good growth the 
coming summer, if the land is good and the moisture right for free 
growth. 

Peach Planting in Alfalfa Sod. 

Is it advisable to plant canning peaches in April, and zvill I gain 
time in grozvth and development? I want to set out eight acres in 
Tuscans or Phillips on deep rich soil near Yuba City. I have a pumping 
plant and can irrigate. The land has been in alfalfa for several years. 
I have in mind setting out trees zvithout disttirbing the alfalfa — until 
next plowing season. Do you think it advisable to use commercial fer- 
tilizer on ten-year-old Muirs? 

Planting the best canning peaches on good peach soil near Yuba 
City seems to be about the safest line of fruit investment which can 
be undertaken. We doubt that you can get much growth from trees 
planted in an old stand of alfalfa without some effort to kill out 
the plant which now occupies the ground. Still, by deep digging, 
throwing out all the alfalfa roots and thorough hoeing during the 
growing season and keeping the alfalfa mowers from sawing off the 
tops of them, the trees may make a good start. As the alfalfa will 
have to be irrigated, April may not be too late to start the trees, 
providing you can find nursery stock which is still quite dormant. 
Probably ten-year-old peach trees will be very much improved by 
commercial fertilizers. 

Prune on Almond. 

What root is considered best for prune trees? The ranch lies above 
the creek. A friend is very partial to the almond root instead of the 
myrobalan, but I understand that the prune tree sometimes outgrows 
the almond root. 

If you have a deep rather light soil which drains well and which 
there is, therefore, no danger of water standing during the rainy 
season, the almond root is perfectly satisfactory for the prune. It 
is a strong-growing root and keeps pace with the top growth well. 
The prune, in fact, is more apt to overgrow the myrobalan than the 
almond, and the myrobalan will not do well on light soils likely to 
dry out as the almond will. 

Re-grafting Silver Prunes. 

/ have five acres of Silver prunes which produce very little fruit. 
The trees are strong and healthy. French prune trees adjoining bear 



Fruit Growing 47 

regularly and heavily. Can I graft French prunes on the Silver trees? 
Will Silver prune trees take other grafts, such as apricots or apples? 

The Silver prune is often unsatisfactory for reason of shy bear- 
ing. It is perfectly feasible to graft over the tree to the French 
prune and this has been done for years by different growers. Apri- 
cots will usually take on the plum stock, but are apt to over-grow 
it or else be dwarfed themselves, but the apricot is often worked 
upon a plum stock. Apples have no grafting affinity whatever for 
the plum. 

French or Italian. 

In the prune-growing district around Salem, Oregon, Italian prunes 
are groivn exclusively for drying purposes. French prunes were con- 
sidered worthless. Here in Sutter county, California, a great many French 
prunes are grozim and we are advised to plant them, but would rather 
plant the Italian prune. Which zvould you advise us to set out in this 
part of the State? 

The Italian or Fellenberg prune was grown to some extent in 
California 40 years and abandoned; it was not so sure in bearing 
as the French, and it was not the type of prune which we had 
ambition to excel with. The prune which we grow as the French 
is the true prune or plum of Agen. We should plant it and let the 
Oregon people have the Italian. 

Myrobalan Seedlings. 

/ am sending two small plums ivliich I am told are Myrobalan plum. 
I desire to grow seedlings on which later to bud and graft French prunes. 
If these are Myrobalan plums, will trees from them be as good as trees 
from pits that were imported? 

The fruits are Myrobalan plums, and their seedlings would be 
suitable for the French prune, providing the trees which bear them 
are strong, thrifty growing trees. There is great variation in the 
colors of the Myrobalan seedlings, from light yellow to dark red, 
and it is the satisfactory growth of the tree rather than the char- 
acter of the fruit which one has to bear in mind when growing 
seedlings from selected trees instead of depending so largely on 
imported seedlings. 

Drying Plums and Prunes. 

I have plum trees of various kinds that are loaded with fruit. I do 
not know if any are of the variety used for drying as prunes: I knozv 
nothing of the process of making or drying prunes. One man suggests 
that I dip them for four or Ave minutes in a 3 or 4 per cent solution 
of lye and then place them in the sun. 

Dipping your plums is right providing they are very sweet, as 
they vvill dry like prunes without removing the pit. If they are 
plums that are commercially used for shipping, without enough 
sugar to dry as prunes, the pit must be removed. Drying in this 
way, you do not need to use lye, which is simply for the purpose 



48 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

of cracking the skin so that the moisture can be more readily 
evaporated. There is no danger in using the necessary amount of 
lye. Less is used than in making hominy. 

The Sugar Prune. 

JVIiat is the commercial value of the Sugar prtiiieF Is there any 
other early ri/^ening variety better than the Sugar? 

It is selling very well as a cured prune, and growers in the 
northern bay counties especially have done so well that they are 
extending their plantings. It is coarser in flesh than the French 
and generally flatter in flavor when cooked and thus falls below the ideal 
of a cured prune, but it has compensating characters, such as early 
ripening, with which no other prune compares. The Sugar is also 
valuable as a shipping plum to Eastern markets. 

Glossing Dried Prunes. 

Will you give the method for giving the gloss to dried French prunes? 

There are various methods. One pound of glycerine to 20 
gallons of water; a quick dip in the mixture very hot gives a good 
finish. Where a clear bloom rather than a shine, is desired, five 
pounds of common salt to 100 gallons of water, also dipped hot, 
gives a good effect. Some use a thin syrup made by boiling small prunes 
in water (by stove or steam) and thinning with water to produce 
the result desired. Steam cooking avoids bad flavor by burning. 
The salt dip is probably the most widely used. 

Price of Prunes on a Size Basis. 

Explain the grading in price of prunes. For instance, if the base 
price is, say, five and three-fourths cents, zvhat sice does this refer to, 
and how is the price for other sizes calculated? Also, zvhat is the mean- 
ing of the phrase "four-size basis"? 

Prunes, after being sold to the packer, are graded into different 
sizes, according to the number required to make a pound, and paid 
for on that basis. The four regular sizes are 60-70s, 70-80s, 80-90s, 
and 90-lOOs, which means that from 60 to 70 prunes are required to 
make a pound, and so on. The basis price is for prunes that weigh 
80 to the pound. When the basis price is 5^ cents, 80-90s are worth 
% cent less than this amount, or 5^ cents. The next smaller size, 
90-lOOs, are worth J/2 cent less, or 5 cents, while prunes under this 
size are little but skin and pit and bring much less to the grower. 
For each next larger size there is a difference of ^ cent in favor 
of the grower, so that on the 5^-cent basis 70-80s are worth 6 
cents, and 60-70s 6^ cents. This advance continues for the larger 
sizes, 30-40s, 40- 50s, etc., but these quite often command a premium 
besides, which is fixed according to the supplies available and the 
demand for the various sizes. The sizes for which no premium or 
penalty is generally fixed are those from 60 to 100, four sizes, so 



Fruit Growing 49 

that this basis of making contracts and sales is called the "four- 
size basis." The advantage that results in having this method of 
selling prunes can be seen by the fact that on a 5-)4-cent basis the 
smallest of the four sizes will bring but 5 cents a pound, while 30-40s 
would bring, without any premium, 8^ cents, and with 1 cent 
premium, 9^ cents. This size has this season brought as high as 
10 and 11 cents a pound. It may be noted here that no prunes are 
actually sold at just the basis price, as they are worth either less or more 
than this as they are smaller or larger than 80 to the pound. No 
matter what the basis price is, there is a difference of one-half cent 
between each size and the sizes nearest to it. 

Pollinizing Plums. 

Hozv many rozvs of Robe dc Sergeant prune frees should be alter- 
nated with the French prune (the common dried prune of commerce) to 
insure perfect fertilization of the blossoms? 

The French prune is self-fertile; that is, it does not require the 
presence of other plum species for pollination of the blossoms. It 
is the Robe de Sergeant prune which is defective in pollination 
and which is presumably assisted by proximity to the French prune. 
If you wish to grow Robe de Sergeant prunes your question of in- 
terplanting would be pertinent, but if you desire only to grow French 
prunes you need not plant the Robe de Sergeant at all. 

Cultivating Olives, 

How deep should an olive orchard be plozved? I was told that by 
plowing deep I would injure my trees, in cutting up small rootlets and 
Hbres which the olive extends through the surface soil. Is this so or 
not? 

Plowing olives is like plowing other trees, the purpose being 
to get a workable soil deep enough to stand five or six inches of 
summer cultivation, usually. If you have old trees which have never 
been deeply plowed, you would destroy a lot of roots by deep plow- 
ing, and you should not start in and rip up all the land at once. 
You can gradually deepen the plowing, sacrificing fewer roots at a 
time, without injuring the trees if they are otherwise well circum- 
stanced. Small rootlets and fibres in the surface soil do not count; 
they are quickly replaced, and if you do not destroy them, the whole 
surface soil, if moist enough, will be filled with a network of roots 
which will subsequently make decent working of the soil impossible. 

Moving Old Olive Trees, 

Would there be anything gained by transplanting old olive trees 6 to 
8 inches in diameter over nursery stock? They ivould have to be shipped 
from Santa Clara to Butte county and grafted. Would they come into 
bearing any sooner and be as good trees? Could the large limbs be 
used to advantage? Would the fact that they are covered with smut 
cause any trouble? 



50 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Old olive trees can be successfully moved a long distance by 
cutting back, taking up a ball of earth, and possibly a short distance 
with bare roots if everything is favorable. But do not for a moment 
think tb.cm worth such an outlay for labor, freight and hauling which 
such a movement as you mention involves. The trees on arrival 
would probably only be firewood, and if they lived, the time required 
in getting a good growth and grafting, etc., would perhaps be as 
great as in bringing a young tree of the right kind to bearing, and 
the latter would be a better tree in every way. Large limbs can be 
split and used as cuttings, but the tree would be growth on one side 
and decay on the other. Use the smaller limbs for hard-wood cut- 
tings and the balance for firewood. The smut shows that the trees 
are covered with scale insects and might indicate that it is better 
to burn up the whole outfit unless you learn to fight them. 

Darkening Pickled Olives. 

Is tlicrc anything that will make olives keep their black color ivhcn 
put into lye? When I put my first picking of ripe olives in lye, a large 
part of them turn green, the black leaving the fruit. My formula is one 
pound of. lye to five gallons of zvater. Have you any better formula? 

By exposing the olives to the light and air, either during the 
salting or immediately after, ripe olives may be given a uniformly 
black color. Also, fruit which is less ripe and which shows red and 
green patches after processing with lye, becomes an almost uniform 
dark brown color. To do this, the olives are removed from the 
brine and exposed to light and air freely for one or two days. Your 
lye was stronger than necessary. With ripe olives it is desirable to 
use salt and lye together to prevent softening, and the common 
prescription is two ounces of potash lye and four ounces of salt to 
the gallon of water after the bitterness is largely removed by using 
one or two treatments with two ounces of lye to the gallon without 
the salt. It is necessary to draw ofi the solution, rinse well, and 
put on fresh solution several times during the process to get the best 
results. 

Seedling Olives Must Be Grafted. 

IVill olive trees grown from the olive seed be the right thing to 
plant? Will they be true to the parent tree or zvill they have to be 
grafted? 

Olives which a seedling olive tree will bear will be, as a rule, 
very inferior and generally of the type of the wild olive. All such 
trees must be grafted in order to produce any particular variety 
which you desire. 

Olives, Oranges and Peppers. 

We have been told that olive trees easily become infested ivith a 
fungus disease zvhich they then impart to the orange tree. The same 
objection is raised to the planting of pepper trees. May this be true 
in some parts of the State and not in others? 



Fruit Growing 51 

The fungus of which you have heard is the "black smut." It is 
a result, not a cause. It grows on the honey dew exuded from scale 
insects and if your trees have no scale they have no fungus. The 
olive trees and pepper trees may communicate this trouble to citrus 
trees, or vice versa — whichever gets it first gives it away to the 
other. If you will work hard enough to kill the scale wherever 
it appears you can have all these trees, but, of course, it costs a lot 
to fight scale on big pepper trees, and it is, therefore, wisest usually 
to choose an ornamental tree not likely to accept the scale. 

Budding Olive Seedlings. 

/ have planted olive seeds which are just sprouting nozv. Can these be 
budded next June or July in the niirsesry rozv, or can they be bench-grafted 
the following winterf 

Your seedlings may make growth enough to spur-bud this sum- 
mer. The ordinary plate-bud does not take freely with the olive. 
Some of them may do this; other seedlings may be slow and have 
to be budded in the second summer. Watch the size and the sap 
flow so that the bark will lift well — which may not be at just the 
time that deciduous trees are budded. It may be both earlier or 
later in the season. Graft evergreens like the olive in the nursery 
row; not by bench grafting. 

Budding Old Olives. 

/ have seedling olive trees, set out iji 1904, which I wish to change 
over to the Ascolano variety. Which is the best way to do it, by budding 
or grafting, and what is the proper time? 

Twig-budding brings the sap of the stock to bear upon a young 
lateral or tip bud, which is much easier to start than dormant buds 
used either as buds or grafts. A short twig about an inch and a 
half in length is taken with some of the bark of the small branch 
from which it starts, and both twig and bark at its base are put in 
a bark slit like an ordinary shield bud and tied closely with a waxed 
band, although if the sap is moving freely it would probably do 
with a string or raffia tie. Put in such buds as growth is starting 
in the spring. 

Olives from Small Cuttings. 

In the rooting of small soft-wood olive cuttings is it necessary to 
cover same with glass — say perhaps prepare a cold-frame and put stable 
manure in the bottom zuith about eight inches of sand on top? 

It ceases to be a cold-frame when you cover in manure for 
bottom heat; it becomes a hotbed. Varieties of olives differ greatly 
in the readiness with which they start from small cuttings. Some 
start freely and grow well in boxes of sand under partial shade — like 
a lath house or cover. Some need bottom heat in such a hotbed as 
you describe with a cloth over; some start well in a cold-frame with 
a lath cover. To get the best results with all kinds, it is safer to use 



52 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

some more heat than comes from exposure to ordinary temperatures 
— either by concentration, as in a covered frame, or by a mild bottom 
heat. If you have glass frames or greenhouse, they are, of course, 
desirable, but much can be done without that expense. 

Olives from Large Cuttings. 

/ am about to take olive cuttings from one-half to one inch thick 
and 14 to 20 inches long, and wish to root them in nursery roivs. Please 
advise me if it is necessary to plant under half shade? Also, can same 
he planted ont right azs.<ay, or should they be buried in trendies for a 
zvhile before setting out? Would it be best to strip all leaves or branches 
off, or leave one on? How many buds should be left above ground? 

Plant in open ground in the coast district generally; in the in- 
terior a lath (or litter shade not too dense) is desirable in places 
where high dry heat is expected and where sprinkling under the 
cover may be desirable. Plant out when the soil is right as to 
warmth and moisture, which is usually a little later than this in the 
central and northern parts of the State. Remove all leaves and 
twigs and plant about three-quarters of the length in the soil, which 
should be a well-drained sandy loam. The cuttings can be taken 
directly from the trees and need not be bedded. If the cuttings 
come some distance and get end-dried, make a fresh cut at planting. 
If shriveled at all, soak a few hours in water before planting out. 

Trimming Up Olives. 

Limbs are shooting out too loiv on my olive trees. Would it be right 
to trim them, up white dormant this winter, or should I let them grozv 
another year before doing so? I think I zvant the first limbs to start at 
18 to 20 inches above the ground. 

Take ofif the lower shoots whenever your knife is sharp. Do not 
let them grow another year. Theoretically, the best time to remove 
them is toward the end of the dormant season, but if they are not 
large as compared with the whole growth of the tree, go to it any time. 

Canning Olives. 

What is the recipe for preserving olives by heat, and Jiozv long do 
they have to remain in the heated state? 

Canning olives is a process, not a recipe, and it has to be 
operated with judgment. It resembles, of course, the common pro- 
cess of canning other fruits and vegetal)les. It has lieen demonstrated 
that heating up to 175° Fahrenheit is effective to keep olives in 
sealed containers for over two years. The heating was done in the 
jars in the usual canning way for several minutes after 175° was 
reached, to be sure the contents were heated through. 

Renewing Olive Trees. 

/ have olive trees on first-class land; no pest of any kind is apparent. 
The trees look healthy in every zmy, and average about 12 inches at the 



Fruit Growing S3 

butt and 30 feet high. They have borne fruit, but for the last three years 
have not borne. I am advised to cut back to stumps, 5 or 6 feet high, 
and start new tops. 

Unsatisfactory olive trees may be cut back, but not to such an 
extent as you mention. Thin out the branches if too thick and cut 
back or remove those which interfere, but to cut back to a stump 
would force out a very thick mass of brush which you would have to 
afterward go into and thin out desperately. The branches which 
you decide to retain may be cut back to twelve or fifteen feet from 
the ground. This would have the effect of giving you plenty of 
new thrifty wood, which is desirable for the fruiting of the olive, 
but we cannot guarantee that this treatment will make the trees 
satisfactory bearers. Are you sure they are receiving water enough? 
If not, give them more next summer. Also give the land a good 
coat of stable manure and plow under when the land is right for the 
plow. 

Growing Olives from Seed. 

How are seedlings grown from olive seeds? 

Growing olives from seeds is promoted by assisting nature to 
break the hard shell. This can be done by pinching carefully with 
ordinary wire pliers until the shell cracks without injury to the 
kernel, or the shell may be cut into with a file, making a very small 
aperture to admit moisture. The French have specially contrived 
pliers with a stop which admits cracking and prevents crushing. 
Olive seeds in their natural condition germinate slowly and irregu- 
larly. They must be kept moist and planted about an inch deep in 
sandy loam, covering with chaff or litter to prevent drying of the 
surface. Before experimenting with olive pits, crack a few to see 
if they have good plump kernels. Seedling olives must be grafted, of 
course, to be sure of getting the variety you want. For this reason 
growth from cuttings is almost universal. 

Neglected Olive Trees. 

/ have a lot of olive trees which have grown up around the old 
stumps. They are large trees and some of them have six or eight trunks. 
Should I cut away all but one trunk or let them alone? There are some 
of the trees zvith small olives; others none. 

If the olive trees which were originally planted were trained at 
first and still have a good trunk and tree form, the suckers which 
have intruded from below should be removed. If, however, the trees 
have been allowed to grow many branches from below, so that there 
is really no single tree remaining, make a selection of four or five 
of the best shoots and grow the trees in large bush form, shortening 
in the higher growth so as to bring the fruit within easier reach 
and reduce the cost of picking. You can also develop a single shoot 
into a tree as you suggest. Of course, you must determine whether 
the trees as they now stand are of a variety which is worth grow- 
ing. If they are all bearing very small fruit, it would be a question 



54 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

whether tliey were worth keeping at all, because grafting on the 
kind of growth which you describe would be unlikely to yield satis- 
factory tree forms, though you might get a good deal of fruit from 
them. 

Olives from Cuttings, 

/ luTt'c tzi'o choice olive trees on my place. I am anxious to get trees 
from these old ones and do not knozv hozv to go about it. Can I grow 
the young trees by using cuttings or slips from these old trees? If so, 
ivhen is the proper time to select the cuttings, and h.ow should they be 
planted i' 

Take cuttings of old wood, one-half or three-quarters of an 
inch in diameter, about ten inches long, and plant them about three- 
quarters of their length in a sandy loam soil in a row so water can 
be run alongside as may be necessary to keep the soil moist but 
not too wet. Such dormant cuttings can be put in when the soil 
begins to warm up with the spring sunshine. They can be put in 
the places where you desire them to grow in one or two years. 
Olives, like other evergreen trees, should be transplanted in the 
spring when there is heat enough to induce them to take hold at 
once in their new places, and not during the winter when dormant 
deciduous trees are best transplanted. 

Water and Frost. 

/ have in mind tzco pieces of land li'dl adapted to citrus culture. 
Both have the same elevation, soil, climate and zvater co)tditions, except 
that one piece is a mile of the Kazveah river, zvhile the other is four or 
five miles distant. In case of a frost, all conditions being about the same, 
zvhich piece zvould you consider to be liable to suffer the more? In the 
heavy frost of last December, zvhile neither sustained any great damage, 
that portion of the ground nearer the river seemed to sustain the less. 
Is this correct in theory? The Kazveah river at this point is a good- 
siced stream of rapidly flozving zvater. 

The land near the river, conditions of elevation being similar, 
would be less liable to frost. There are a good many instances 
where the presence of a considerable body of water prevents the 
lowering of the temperature of the air immediately adjacent. It is 
so at various points along the Sacramento river, and it is recog- 
nized as a general principle that bodies of water exert a warming 
influence upon tlieir immediate environment even in regions with a 
hard winter. How much i) may count for must be determined by 
taking other conditions into the account also. 

Thinning Oranges. 

Is it advisable to thin fruit on you)ig citrus trees? Our trees have 
been bearing about three years, but they are still Sfuall trees. The oranges 
and grape fruit ripen zvell and are large and of excellent quality, but the 
trees seem overloaded. 



Fruit Growing SS 

The size of oranges on over-burdened trees can be increased 
l)y thinning-, just as other fruits are enlarged, but it is not system- 
atically undertaken as with peaches and apricots, because it is not 
so necessary and because it is easy to get oranges on young trees 
too large and to be discounted for over-sized coarse fruit. Removing 
part of the fruit from young trees is often done — for the good of 
the tree, not for the good of the fruit. It should be done after the 
natural drop takes place, during the summer. 

Wind-blown Orange Trees. 

What xvould you do for citrus trees five years old that have been 
badly blown out of shape''' 

Such trees must be trued up by pruning into the wind; that is, 
cutting to outside buds on the windward side and to inside buds 
on the lee side; also reducing the weight by pruning away branches 
wliich have been blown too far to the leeward. Sometimes trees 
can be straightened by moving part of the soil and pulling into the 
wind and bracing there by a good prop on the leeward side, but that, 
of course, is not practicable if the trees have attained too much size. 

Handling Balled Citrus Trees. 

/ have some oran;je and lemon trees zvhich were sent me zvith their 
roots balled up zvith dirt and sacks. As we are still having frosts I have 
not zvanted to set them out. Would it not be better to let them stay as 
they are and keep the sacks wet (they have a sack box over them) than 
to put them out while the frosts last? 

Your citrus trees will not be injured for a time unless mold 
should set in from the wet sacks. Get them into the ground as soon 
as the soil comes into good condition, and cover the top for a time 
after they are planted to protect them against frosts. This would 
lie better than to hold them too long in the balls, but do not plant 
in cold, wet soil; hold them longer as they are. 

The Navel Not Thornless. 

/ have lately purchased some Washington navel orange trees, and 
upon arrival I find they have thorns upon them. I thought the Wash- 
ington navels were thornless. 

The navel orange tree is not thornless. It is described as a 
medium thorny variety, so that the finding of thorns upon the trees 
would not be in itself sufficient indication that they were not of the 
right variety. 

Over-size Oranges. 

/ have some orange trees in a disintegrated granite zvith a good many 
small pieces of rock still remaining in the soil. What I zvish to knozv 
is zvhether it is probably something in the soil that makes them grow too 
large, or is it probably the method of treatment?" What treatment should 
be adopted to guard agai)ist this excessive growth F 



56 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Young trees have a natural disposition to produce outside sizes 
of fruit, and this is sometimes aggravated by excessive use of fer- 
tilizers, sometimes by over-irrigation. We would cease to fertilize 
for a time and to regulate irrigation so that the trees will have 
enough to be thrifty without undertaking excessive growth. Such 
soil as you describe is sometimes very rich at the beginning in 
available plant food, and fertilization should l)c delayed until this 
excess has been appropriated by the tree. 

Budding or Grafting in Orange Orchard. 

/ hin'c laud iiozc ready to be planted to oranges, but it is impossible 
for me to buy the necessary budded stock nozv or even later this year. 
Would you advise me to plant the "sour stock" as it comes from the 
nursery and have it budded or eroivn-budded later? Are there any real 
objections to this method, and, if so, zvhat are they? 

It is perfectly feasible to plant sour-stock seedlings and to graft 
them afterward to whatever variety of oranges you desire to grow, 
but it is undoubtedly better to pay a pretty good price for budded 
trees of the kind you desire rather than incur the delay and the ir- 
regular growth of young trees budded or grafted in the field. There 
is also danger of an irregular stand from accidental injuries to new 
growth started in the field without the protection which it finds in 
the nursery row. 

Budding Oranges. 

Hozv late in the fall can budding of orange trees be done — plants that 
are tzvo years old — and what advantage, if any, is late budding? What 
shall I do zvith some old trees that zvere budded about tzvo months ago 
and are still green but not sprouted yet? The budding zvas done on young 
slioots. 

Late budding of the orange can be done as late as the bark 
will slip well; usually, however, not quite so late as this. Such buds 
are preferred because in the experience of most people they make 
stronger growth than those put in in the spring. Such buds are not 
expected to grow until the lowest temperatures of the winter are 
over. The buds which you speak of as green but still dormant are 
doing just what they ought to do. They will start when they get 
ready. 

Under-pruning of Orange Trees. 

My Washington Navels have a very heavy crop on the lozver limbs, 
as is usual. These branches are so lozv dozvn that many of the oranges 
lie on the ground, and it takes a good deal of time to prop them up so 
that tliey zuill not toucli the ground. What zvould be the result of pruning 
off these lozv branches, after the fruit is off? Will the same amount of 
fruit be produced by the fruit grozving on the limbs higher up? 

Certainly, raise the branches of the orange trees by removing 
the lowest branches or parts of branches which reach to the ground. 
A little later others will sag down and this under-pruning will have 



Fruit Growing 57 

to be continuous. It would be better to do this than to undertake 
any radical removal of the lower branches. The progressive re- 
moval as becomes necessary will not appreciably reduce the fruit- 
ing and will be in many ways desirable. 

Keeping Citrus Trees Low. 

My tangerines last fall shot ut> like lemon trees — a dozen to tiventy 
shoots tivo or three feet high. The trees arc eight years old and are 
loaded zvith bloom and some of the shoots have buds and bloom clear to 
the top. Some shoots have no bloom. What should I do with these 
shoots? Cut them back like lemons or let them remain? 

You must shorten the shoots if you desire to have a low tree. 
This will cause their branching and it will be necessary, therefore, 
to remove some of the shoots entirely, either now or later, in order 
that the tree will not become too compact. 

Dying Back of Fruit Trees. 

/ have a few orange and lemon trees that are starting to die. One 
tree has died on the top. What kind of spray shall I use? 

The dying back of a tree at the top indicates that the trouble 
is in the roots, and it is usually due to standing water in the soil, 
resulting either from excessive application of water or because the 
soil is too retentive to distribute an amount of water which might 
not be excessive on a lighter soil which would allow of its freer 
movement. Dig down near the tree and see if you have not a muddy 
subsoil. The same trouble would result if the subsoil is too dry, 
and that also you can ascertain by digging. If you find moisture ample, 
and yet not excessive, the injury to the root might be due to the presence 
of alkali, or to excessive use of fertilizers. The cause of the trouble 
has to be determined by local examination and cannot be prescribed 
on the basis of a description of the plant. It cannot be cured by 
spraying unless specific parasite is found which can be killed by it. 

Young Trees Dropping Fruit. 

/ have a few citrus fruit trees about three years old. They have made 
a good grozvth and are between seven and eight feet high with a good 
shaped top or head. I did not expect any fruit last year and did not have 
any. This spring they blossomed irregularly at blooming time, but quite 
an amount of fruit set and grew as large as marbles, some of it the size 
of a walnut, but lately it has about all fallen off the trees. 

There is always more or less dropping from fruit trees. Some 
years large numbers of oranges drop. There may be many causes, 
and the trouble has thus far not been found preventable. When the 
foliage is good and the growth satisfactory, the young tree is cer- 
tainly not in need of anything. It is rather more likely that fruit 
is dropped by the young trees owing to their excessive vegetative 
vigor, for it is a general fact that fruit trees which are growing 



58 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

very fast are less certain in fruit-setting. It is, of course, possible 
that you have been forcing such action by too free use of water. 
You will do well to let your trees go along so long as they appear 
thrifty and satisfactory, and e.xpect better fruiting when they be- 
come older. 

Orange Training. 

Is not a single leader in an orange tree more desirable than the much- 
forked tree so commonly seen? Can a single-leader tree be made from 
the nursery trees zvhich have already formed their heads, by cutting off 
the heads belozv so that only a straight stick zvithont any branches is left? 

An orange tree with a central leader would not be at all satis- 
factory if it were carried very high. Of course, a central stem can 
be to advantage taken higher than it is often done, but we would not 
think of growing an orange tree with a central stem to the apex. 
The laterals would droop, crowd down upon each other badly, open 
the center to sunburn, and encourage also a growth of central 
suckers and occasion an amount of pruning altogether beyond what 
is necessary with a properly branched tree without a central stem. 

Curing Citron. 

/ wish to know a zvay to cure citrons at home. I have a fine tree 
that has borne very fine-looking fruit for the past two years. 

An outline for the preparation of candied citron is as follows; 
The fruit, before assuming a yellow color, and also when bright yellow, 
is picked and placed in barrels filled with brine, and left for at least 
a month. The brine is renewed several times, and the fruit allowed 
to remain in it until required for use, often for a period of four or 
five months. When the citrons are to be candied they are taken 
from the barrels and boiled in fresh water to soften them. They 
are then cut into halves, the seed and pulp are removed, and the 
fruit is again immersed in cold water, soon becoming of a greenish 
color. After this it is placed in large earthen jars, covered with hot 
syrup, and allowed to stand about three weeks. During this time 
the strength of the syrup is gradually increased. The fruit is then 
put into boilers with crystallized sugar dissolved in a small quantity 
of water, and cooked; then allowed to cool, and boiled again until 
it will take up no more sugar. It is then dried and packed in wooden 
boxes. 

Crops Between Orange Trees, 

What crop can I plant betzveen rows of young orange trees to utilise 
the ground as well as pay a little something? 

It depends not alone upon what will grow, but upon what can 
be profitably sold or used on the place, and unless sure of that, 
it is usually better not to undertake planting between young trees 
but rather to cultivate well, irrigate intelligently, and trust for the 
reward in a better growth and later productiveness of the trees. It 
is clear, California experience that planting between trees ex- 



Fruit Growing 59 

cept to things which are demonstrated to be profitable should not 
be undertaken, and where one does not need immediate returns is, 
as a rule, undesirable. The growth of a strip of alfalfa, if one is 
careful not to submerge the trees by over-irrigation, would be the 
best thing one could undertake for the purpose of improving the soil 
by increasing the humus content, reducing the amount of reflected 
heat from a clean surface, and is otherwise desirable wherever 
moisture is available for it. You could also grow cow peas for the 
good of the land if not for other profit. You can, of course, grow 
small fruits and vegetables for home use if you will cultivate well. 
Common field crops, with scant cultivation, will generally cause you 
to lose more from the bad condition in which they leave the soil 
than you can gain from the use or sale of the crop. 

Navels and Valencias. 

Navel trees are being budded to Valencias in southern California, 
because of the higher price received for the late-ripening Valencias. Are 
the orchards in central and northern California being planted in Navels, 
and is there afiy differnce in soil or climate requirements of Navels and 
Valencias? 

There is no particular difference in the soil requirements of 
Valencia and Navel orranges. They are both budded on the same root. 
The desirability of Navel oranges in the upper citrus districts arises 
from the fact that the policy of those districts at the present time 
is to produce an early orange. This they could not accomplish by 
growing the Valencia. The great advantage of the Valencia in 
southern California, on the other hand, lies in the very fact that it 
is late and that it can be marketed in midsummer and early autumn 
when there are no Navels available from anywhere. 

Orange Seedlings. 

What about planting the seed from St. Michael's oranges or of grape- 
fruit for a seed-bed to be budded to Valencias? 

Good plump St. Michael's seeds would be all right if you desire 
to use sweet seedling stock. Grapefruit seedlings are good and quite 
widely used, though the general preference is for sour-stock seed- 
lings. 

Acres of Oranges to a Man. 

In your opnion, is it possible for one man, of average strength, to 
take perfect care of a twenty-acre citrus orchard? Are the services of 
a man who takes the entire responsibility of an orchard (citrus) worth 
more than those of a common ranch hand? 

It depends upon the man, upon the age of the trees, upon the 
kind of soil he has to handle, upon the irrigation arrangements and 
upon what you mean by "perfect care." If you contract the picking 
and hauling of fruit, the fumigation and allow extra help when con- 
ditions require that something must be done quickly, whatever it 



60 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

may be, a man with good legs and arms, and a good head full of 
special knowledge to make them go, can handle twenty acres and 
if he does it right you ought to pay him twice as much as an ordi- 
nary ranch hand. 

Roots for Orange Trees. 

What arc the conditions most favorable to orange trees budded upon 
sour stock; also upon szveet stock and trifoUata? 

The sour stock is believed to be more hardy against trying con- 
ditions of soil moisture — both excess and deficiency, and diseases 
incident thereto. The sweet stock is a free growing and satisfactory 
stock and most of the older orchards are upon this root, but it is 
held to be less resistant of soil troubles than the sour stock, and 
therefore propagators are now largely using the latter. The trifoli- 
ata has been promoted as more likely to induce dormancy of the 
top growth during cold weather, because of its own deciduous habit. 
It has also been advocated as likely to induce earlier maturity in 
the fruit and thus minister to early marketing. The objection urged 
against it has been a claimed dwarfing of the tree worked upon it. 

Citrus Budding. 

/ ivish to bud some Maltese blood orange trees to pomelos and lem- 
ons. Will they make good stock for them, and. if so, is it necessary to 
cut belozv the original bud? 

It is possible to bud as you propose, and it is not necessary to 
go back to the old stock. Work in above the forks. 

No Citrus Fruits on Lemon Roots. 

]]'ould if be any adz'antage to bud the JJ'ashington Xaz'cl on grape- 
fruit and lemon roots? 

The grapefruit or pomelo is a good root for the orange, and 
some propagators prefer it. The lemon root is not used at present, 
because of its effect in causing a coarse growth of tree and fruit 
and because it is more subject to disease than the orange root. In 
fact, we grow nearly all lemons on orange roots. 

Budding Oranges. 

My first attempt at budding, I cut 20 buds and immediately inserted 
in stock of Mexican sour orange "Amataca." I left bands on them for 
ten days at ivhich time about half seemed to have "stuck," but after a fczv 
days the bark curled azvay and the buds dried up and died. I then 
tried again, but left the bands on for thirteen days and lightly tied 
strings around belozv the bud to prevent the bark from curling, and also 
put grafii)ig zva.v in the cut and over the bud. These appeared fresh 
and green at time of taking off the bands, but three zveeks later 
I found them rotted. The grafting wax used zuas made of beeszvax, 



Fruit Growing 61 

resin, olive oil and a small amount of lard to soften it. Do you think 
tJiat the action of the lard on the buds zvould cause them to rot? 

Consider first whether the buds which you use are sufificiently 
developed; that is, a sufficient amount of hardness and maturity 
attained by the twig from which you took these buds. Second, use 
a waxed band, drawing it quite tightly around the bark, above and 
below the bud, covering the bud itself without too much pressure 
for several days, then loosening the band somewhat, but carefully 
replacing over all but the bud point. It is necessary to exclude the 
air sufficiently, but not wholly. The use of a soft fat like olive oil 
or lard is not desirable. If you use oil at all for the purpose of 
softening, linseed oil, as used by painters, is safer because of its dis- 
position to dry without so much penetration. Having used olive 
oil and lard together you had too much soft fatty material. 

Budding Orange Seedlings in the Orchard, 

What are the objections or advantages of planting sour stock seed- 
lings zvhere one zvishes the trees and one or tzvo years later bud into the 
branches instead of budding the young stock lozv on the trunk F 

Planting the seedling and at some future time cutting back the 
branches and grafting in the head above the forks is an expensive 
operation and loses time in getting fruit. You will get very irregu- 
lar trees and be disappointed in the amount of re-working you will 
have to do. Suckers must be always watched for; that has to be 
done anyway, but a sucker from a wild stock is worse in eflfects if 
you happen to overlook it. Avoid all such trouble by planting good 
clean trees budded in nursery rows. You may have to do rebudding 
later, if you want to change varieties, and that is trouble enough. 
Do not rush at the beginning into all the difficulties there are. 

Grapefruit and Nuts. 

Peaches, pears and plums predominate in this section, but zvould not 
grapefruit, almonds and English zvalnuts be just as profitable? What is 
your idea about English zvalnuts on black zvalnut root? 

You can expect grapefruit to succeed under conditions which 
favor the orange. Therefore, if oranges are doing well in your dis- 
trict, grapefruit might also be expected to succeed on the same soils 
and with the same treatment. Planting of almonds should proceed 
upon a demonstration that the immediate location is suited to al- 
monds, because they are very early to start and very subject to 
spring frost and should not be planted unless you can find bearing 
trees which have demonstrated their acceptance of the situation by 
regular and profitable crops. English walnuts are less subject to 
frosts because they start much later in the season. They need, how- 
ever, deep, rich land which will be sure not to dry out during the 
summer. English walnuts are a perfect success upon the California 
black walnut root. 



62 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Soil and Situation for Oranges. 

Is it absolutely essential that orange trees be planted on a southern 
slope, or will they thrive as zvell on any slope? What is the minimum 
depth of soil required for orange trees? How can I tell whether the soil 
is good for oranges? 

Orange trees are grown successfully on all slopes, although in 
particular localities certain exposures may be decidedly best, as must 
be learned by local observation. How shallow a soil will suit orange 
trees depends upon how water and fertilizer are applied; on a shal- 
low soil more fertilizer and more frequent use of water in smaller 
quantities. Any soil which has grown good grain crops may be used 
for orange growing if the moisture supply is never too scant and 
any excess is currently disposed of by good drainage. There can 
be no arbitrary rule either for exposure, depth or texture of soils, 
because oranges are being successfully grown on medium loam to 
heavy clay loam, providing the moisture supply is kept right. 

Transplanting Orange Trees. 

Can you transplant trees tivo years old tvith safety to another location 
in same grove, same soil, etc.? 

Yes; and you can move them a greater distance, if you like. 
Take up the trees with a good ball of earth, transplanting in the 
spring when the ground has become well warmed, just about at the 
time when new growth begins to appear on the tree. The top of 
the tree should be cut back somewhat and the leaves should be removed 
if they show a disposition to wilt. You should also whitewash or other- 
wise protect the bark from sunburn if the foliage should be removed. 

Protecting Young Citrus Trees. 

Is it necessary to have young orange trees covered or leave them un- 
covered during the zvinter months? 

It is desirable to cover with burlaps or bale with cornstalks, 
straw or some other coarse litter, all young trees which are being 
planted in untried places; and even where old trees are safe, young 
trees which go into the frost period with new growth of immature 
wood should be thus protected. Do not use too much stuff nor 
bundle too tightly. 

Not Orange on the Osage. 

Can the Navel orange be grafted on the osage orange? I understand 
it is done in Florida, and zvould like to know if it has been tried in Cali- 
fornia. 

It cannot. It has not been done in Florida nor anywhere else. 
The osage orange is not an orange at all. The tree is not a member 
of the citrus family. 



Fruit Growing 63 

No PoUenizer for Navels. 

/ read that the Hozvers of the Navel orange are entirely lacking in 
pollen, or only poorly supplied. If this is true, zvhat variety of orange 
zvould you plant in a Navel grove to supply pollen at the proper time? 

We would not plant any other orange near the Navel for the 
sake of supplying it with pollen. Pollen is only needed to make 
seeds, and by the same process to make the fruit set, and Navels do 
not make seeds, except rarely, nor do they seem to need pollen to 
make the fruit set. 

Water and Frost. 

From hoiv many acres could I keep off a freeze of oranges zvith 
1000 gallons per minute? The zaater is at 65 degrees. 

The amount of water will prevent frost over as large an area 
as you can cover with the water, so as to thoroughly wet the surface, 
but the presence of water will only be effective through about four 
degrees of temperature and only for a short time. If, then, the tem- 
perature should fall below 27 degrees and should remain at that 
point for an hour or two, it is doubtful if the water would save your 
fruit. Water is only of limited value in the prevention of frost, and 
of no value at all when the temperature falls too low. 

What to Do with Frosted Oranges. 

What is the best plan of treatment for frosted orange trees? The 
crop will be a total loss. It does not shozv any tendency to fall off the 
trees, hozvevcr. Should it be picked off, throzjun on the ground and plozjued 
under? Should this be done right azvay or later? 

Unsound fruit should be removed as soon as its injury can be 
conveniently detected and worked into the soil by cultivation; never, 
however, being allowed to collect in masses, which is productive of 
decay and which may be injurious to roots. If trees are injured 
sufficiently to lose most of their leaves, the fruit should also be re- 
moved if it shows a disposition to hang on. This will be a contri- 
bution to the strength of the tree and its ability to clothe itself with 
new foliage. 

Pruning Frosted Citrus Trees. 

Hozv sliall I prune tzuo-year-old orange orchard, also nursery stock 
buds that are badly injured by frost; hozv much to prune and at zvhat time? 

As soon as you can see how far injury has gone down the branch 
or stem, cut below it, so that a new shoot may push out from sound 
wood, and heal the cut as soon as possible. This applies to growths 
of all ages. In the case of buds, if you can only save a single node 
you may get a bud started there and make a tree of that. In the 
case of trees, large or small, it is always desirable to cut above the 
forkings of the main branches, if possible, and when this much of 
the tree remains sound, a new tree can be formed very quickly. If 
the main stem is injured, bark cracked, etc., cut below the ground 



64 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

and put scions in the bark without splitting the root crown; wax 
well or otherwise cover exposed wood to prevent checking. If this 
is successfully done, root-rot may be prevented and the wound cov- 
ered with new bark while the strong new stems are developing above. 

Pruning Oranges. 

Is it best to prune out orange trees by removing occasional branches 
so as to permit free air passage through the trees? Some are advocating 
doing so; but as I remember, the trees in southern California are allowed 
to grozv quite dense, so that we could see into the foliage but very little. 

It is a matter of judgment, with a present tendency toward a 
more open tree than was formerly prescribed. Trees should be more 
thrifty and should bear more fruit deeper in the foliage-wall if more 
air and light are admitted. But this can be had without opening 
the tree so that free sight of its interior is possible. We believe 
thinning of the growth to admit more light and air is good, but we 
should not intentionally cut enough to make holes in the tree. 

Pecan Growing. 

Would you advise planting of pecans in comnicrcial orchards here? 
Walnuts in their proper location constitute some of California's best im- 
provements. After visiting some bearing paper-shell pecans here in Fresno 
county, I believe a pecan orchard of choice variety would be more desir- 
able than a walnut orchard. 

Pecans do well on moist rich land in the interior valleys where 
there are sharper temperature changes than in the coast valleys, ex- 
cept perhaps near the upper coast. Such planting as you propose 
seems promising on lands having moisture enough to carrj-- the nuts 
to full ripening. 

Growing Filberts. 

Please give information about gron'ing filberts. 

Filberts have been largely a disappointment in California and 
no product of any amount has ever been made. Good nuts have 
been produced in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast 
Range. Theoretically, the places where the wild hazel grows would 
best suit the filbert, and so far this seem.s to be justified by the little 
that has actually been done, but there is very little to say about it 
beyond that. It requires much more experience to lift the nut out 
of the experimental state. 

Early Bearing of Walnuts. 

Please inform nic if young walnut trees grafted on black walnut 
stock will produce fruit zvithin i8 months after being planted. 

It is true that the French varieties of English walnuts have pro- 
duced fruit the second summer of their growth. This does not mean, 
however, that you can count upon a crop the second year. These 



Fruit Growing 65 

are usually grafts in nursery rows, and one would have to wait 
longer, as a rule, for trees planted out in orchards with a chance to 
make a freer wood growth. This is rather fortunate, because it is 
better to have a larger tree than to have the growth diverted into 
bearing a small amount of fruit while the tree is very young. We 
do not know any advantage in getting nuts the second year except 
it be to see if you really have secured the variety you desire to pro- 
duce later. 

Handling Walnut Seedlings. 

What is the best time to transplant seedlings of the black walnut? 

Transplant during the dormant season (as shown by absence of 
leaves) when the soil is in good condition. Handle them just as you 
would an apple tree, for instance. 

How to Start English Walnuts. 

In starting English zvalnuts, shall we get nursery stock grafted on 
California black, or shall zve start our black ivalnut seedlings in nursery 
plats, or plant the nuts zvhere the tree is zvanted, and graft them at two 
or three years? What is the advantage, if any, of the long stock from 
grafting high, over the grafted root? 

If we had the money to invest and were sure of the soil condi- 
tions, etc., we should buy grafted trees of the variety we desired, 
just as we would of any other kind of fruit. If we were shy of money 
and long on time, we would start seedlings in nursery, plant out 
seedlings, and graft later, because it is easier to graft when the seed- 
ling is two or three years in place. We count the planting of nuts 
in place troublesome and of no compensating advantage. The chief 
advantage known to us of grafting high and getting a black walnut 
trunk is the hardier bark of the black walnut. 

Walnut Planting. 

/ am planning to plant zvalnuts on rather heavy soil. I have been told 
to put the nut six inches below the surface, but think that too deep, as 
soil is rather heavy. 

In a heavy soil we should not plant these nuts more than three 
inches below the surface, but should cover the surface with a mulch 
of rotten straw to prevent drying out. 

Pruning Grafted Walnuts. 

Should English zmlnut trees be pruned? I have along the roadside 
English walnuts grafted on the California black, and they have grown to 
very large size and the fruit seems to be mostly on the outside of the trees. 

English walnuts are not usually pruned much, though it is often 
desirable, and of course trees can be improved by removing unde- 
sirable branches and especially where too many branches have started 



66 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

from grafts, it is desirable that some be removed. They should be 
cleanly sawed ofif and the wound covered with wax or thick paint 
to prevent the wood from decaying. 

Pruning Walnuts. 

When is the best time to re)iioz'e hirgc limbs from zvalnut trees? 

This work with walnuts or other deciduous fruit trees should 
be done late in the winter, about the time the buds are swelling; 
never mind the bleeding, it does no harm, and the healing-growth 
over the wound is more rapid while the sap is pushing. 

Grafting Walnuts. 

In cleft grafting xvahiiits is it necessary to use scions with only a leaf 
bud, or ivith staminatc or fiistillate bucisF Is cutting the pith of the scion 
or stock fatal to the tree? 

In grafting walnuts it is usual to take shoots bearing wood buds, 
and not the spurs which carry the fruit blossoms, although a part 
of the graft containing also a wood bud can be used, retaining the 
latter. Cutting into the pith of the scion or of the stock is not fatal, 
but it is avoided because it makes a split or wound which is very 
hard to heal. For this reason it is better to cut at one side of the 
pith in the stock, and to cut the scion so that the slope is chiefly in 
the wood at one side of tlie pith and not cutting a double wedge in 
a way to bring the pith in the center. 

Grafting Nuts on Oaks. 

/ have 10 to 15 acres of black oak trees zvhich I zi'ish to graft over 
to chestnuts. Can grafting be done successfully f 

Some success has been secured in grafting the chestnut on the 
chestnut oak, but not, so far as we have heard, on the black oak. 
But grafts on the chestnut oak are not permanently thrifty and pro- 
ductive, though they have been reported as growing for some time. 
The same is true of English walnut grafts on some of the native 
oaks. 

Grafting Walnut Seedlings. 

Would it be proper to graft one-year California black walnut seed- 
lings that must also be transplanted? 

As the seedlings must be moved, plant in orchard and graft as 
two or three-year-olds, according to the size which they attain. 

Pruning the Walnut. 

What is the proper time for pruning the walnut? Is it bad for the 
tree to prune during the active season? I have recently acquired a long- 
neglected grove in which tnany large limbs zvill have to be removed in 



Fruit Growing 67 

order to allow proper methods of cultivation to he practiced, and I am 
in doubt as to the wisdom of doing this during the rise of sap. 

The best time to remove large limbs to secure rapid growth of 
bark from the sides of the cut, is just at the time the sap is rising. 
There will be some outflow of sap, but of no particular loss to the 
tree. As soon as the large wounds have dried sufficiently, the ex- 
posed surface should be painted to prevent cracking of the wood. 

Eastern or California Black Walnuts? 

/ am told that the Eastern black walnut is a more suitable root for 
the low lands in California than the California black. Is this true? 

There has been no demonstration that the Eastern black walnut 
is more suitable to low moist lands than the California black walnut. 
Our grandest California black walnut trees are situated on low moist 
lands. Walnut Grove is on the edge of the Sacramento river with 
immense trees growing almost on the water's edge. Walnut Creek 
in Contra Costa county is also named from large walnut trees on 
the creek bank land. We have very few Eastern black walnut trees 
in California and although they do show appreciation of inoist land, 
they are not in any respect better than the Californian. 

Ripening of Walnuts. 

/ send you two zvalnuts. I am in doubt if tlicy will mature. 

The nuts are well grown, the kernel fully formed in every re- 
spect. Whether they will attain perfect maturity must be determined 
by an observation of the fact and cannot be theoretically predicated. 
Where trees are in such an ever-growing climate as you seem to 
have, they must apparently take a suggestion that the time has ar- 
rived for maturity from the drying of the soil. The roots should 
know that it is time for them to stop working so that the foliage 
may yellow and the nuts mature. It is possible that stopping culti- 
vation a little earlier in the season may be necessary to accomplish 
this purpose. 

Cutting Below Dead Wood. 

/ have some seedling English zvalnut trees which are two years old, 
but they are not coming out in bud this year. They are about three feet 
high, and from the top down to about 10 inches of the ground the limbs 
are dark brozvn, and below that they are a nice green. I cut the top off of 
one of them to see what is the matter that they do not leaf out, and I 
found that there is a round hole right down through the center of the 
tree dozvn to the green part. The hole is about three-si.vteenths of an 
inch in diameter. The pith of the limbs has been eaten away by some 
kind of a zvorni from the inside. Would it be better to cut the tree down 
to the green part, or let them alone? 

It is the work of a borer. Cut down to live wood and paint over 
the wound or wax it. Protect the pith until the bark grows over it 



68 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

or you will have decay inside. If buds do not start on the trunk, 
take a sucker from below to make a tree of. You could put a bud 
in the trunk, but it is not very easy to do it. 

Walnuts in Alfalfa. 

IVill tJie ivalniit trees be injured in any tvay by irrigating tliein at the 
same time and manner as the alfalfa — that is, by flooding the land betivecn 
the checks? Will the zvalnnts make as good a grozvth zvhen planted in 
the alfalfa, and the ground cultivated tzvo or three feet around the tree, 
as though the alfalfa was entirely removed? Is it advisable to plant the 
trees on the checks rather than betzvcen the checks? 

Walnut trees will do well, providing you do not irrigate the al- 
falfa sufificiently to waterlog the trees; providing also that you do 
use water enough so that the trees will not be robbed of moisture 
by the alfalfa. This method of growing trees will be, of course, 
safer and probably more satisfactory if your soil is deep and loamy, 
as it should be to get the best results with both alfalfa and walnuts. 
It would be better to have the trees stand so that the water does 
not come into direct contact with the bark, although walnut trees 
are irrigated by surrounding them with check levees. Planting wal- 
nut trees in an old stand of alfalfa is harder on the tree than to start 
alfalfa after the trees have taken hold, because the alfalfa roots like 
to hang on to their advantage. In planting in an old field, we should 
plow strips, say, five feet wide and keep it cultivated rather than to 
try to start the trees in pot-holes, although with extra care they 
might go that way. 

Walnuts in the Hills. 

Will zvalnuts grozv zvcll in the footliill country; elevation about 600 
feet, soil rich, does not crack in summer and seems to have small stones 
in it? 

Walnuts will do well providing the soil or subsoil is retentive 
enough. If you have water available for irrigation in case the trees 
should need it, they would do well, but if the soil is gravelly way 
down and likely to dry out deeply and you have no water available 
an opposite result might be expected. It is a fact that on some of 
the uplands of the coast mountains there is a lack of moisture late 
in the season which interferes with the success of some fruit trees. 

To Increase Bearing of Walnuts. 

We have a zvalnut orchard zvhich does not bear enough nuts. The 
trees are all Une, even trees, 10 and 12 years old, and zve are told that the 
crop zvas light this year because the trees zvcre grozving so vigorously and 
put most of their energy into the nezt' zvood. Is there any special fertil- 
icer zvhich zvill make the trees bear more and not prompt such heavy 
grozvth? 

If your adviser is right that the trees are not bearing because 
of excessive growth, it would be better not to apply any fertilizer 



Fruit Growing 69 

during the coming year, but allow the trees to assume more steady 
habit and possibly even to encourage them to do so by using less 
cultivation and water. If you wish to experiment with some of the 
trees, give them an application of five pounds of superphosphate and 
two pounds of potash to each tree, properly distributed over the 
land which it occupies. You certainly should not use any form of 
nitrogen. 

Temperature and Moisture for the English Walnut. 

What amount of freezing and drouth can Eiiglisli xvalnuts stand? 
Under what conditions is irrigation necessary? 

The walnut tree will endure hard freezing, providing it comes 
when the tree is dormant, because they are successfully grown in 
some parts of the Eastern States, though not to a large extent; but 
the walnut tree is subject to injury from lighter frosts, providing 
they follow temperatures which have induced activity in the tree. 
On the Pacific Coast the walnut is successfully grown as far north 
as the State of Washington, but even in California there are eleva- 
tions where frosts are likely to occur when the tree is active, and 
these may be destructive to its profit, although they may not injure 
the tree. You are not safe in planting walnuts to any extent except 
in places where you can find trees bearing satisfactorily. Planting 
elsewhere is, of course, an enterprising experimental thing to do, 
but very risky as a line of investment. Irrigation is required if the 
annual rainfall, coupled with the retentiveness of the soil and good 
cultivation, do not give moisture enough to carry the tree well into 
the autumn, maintaining activity in the leaves some little time after 
the fruit is gathered. 

Walnuts from Seed. 

There is a reliable nursery company selling seedling Franquette walnut 
trees on a positive guarantee that they zmll come true to type. Are or- 
chards of this kind satisfactory? 

Walnuts do come truer to the seed than almonds and other 
fruits and the Franquette has a good reputation for remembering its 
ancestry. Until recently practically all the commercial walnut prod- 
uct of California was grown on seedling trees. But these facts 
hardly justify one in trusting to seedlings in plantings now made. 
The way to get a walnut of the highest type is to take a bud or 
graft from a tree which is bearing that type. 

High-grafted Walnuts. 

What is the advantage of a high-grafted zvalnut? I am about ready 
to plant 10 acres to nuts and do not knoxv tvhcther to purchase Franquette 
grafted high on California Black or not. 

The advantage of grafting English walnut higli on California 
Black walnut consists in securing a main trunk for the tree, which is 
less liable to sunburn and probably hardier otherwise than is the 



70 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

stem of the English walnut, and the present disposition toward 
higher grafting or budding seems therefore justified and desirable. 

Grafting and Budding the Mulberry, 

What is the most approved manner of grafting mulberry trees f Am 
told that they are very difficult to successfully graft. 

Most propagators find the mulberry difficult by ordinary top 
and cleft grafting methods. A flute or ring graft or bud does well 
on small seedlings — that is, removing a ring or cylinder of the bark 
from the stock and putting in its place a cylinder from the variety 
desired, cut to fit accurately. For large trees this would have to 
be done on young shoots forced out by cutting back the main 
branches, but when this is done ordinary shield budding in these 
new shoots would give good results. Cut back the trees now and 
bud in the new shoots in July or August. 

Hardiness of Hybrid Berries. 

How much cold will PJicnomcnal, Himalaya and Mammoth blackberries 
stand in winterf Is it safe to plant ivliere the temperature goes below 
32 degrees? 

These berries are hardy to zero at least, for they are grown in 
northern parts of this coast where they get such a touch once in a 
while. They have also endured low temperatures in the central 
continental plateau States and eastward. Whether they can endure 
the lowest temperatures of the winter-killing regions of the northern 
border cannot be determined in California, for we do not have the 
conditions for such tests. The berries are very hardy while dor- 
mant, and probably their value in colder regions would depend rather 
more upon their disposition to remain dormant than upon what they 
can endure when in that condition. 

Pruning Himalayas. 

Shall the old wood be cut away in pruning Himalayas? 

All the old wood which has borne fruit should be cut out in the 
fall and new shoots reduced to three or four from each root, and 
these three or four shoots should be shortened to a length of ten 
or twelve feet and be trained to a trellis or fence, or some other 
suitable support. Vines wliich are allowed to grow riotously as they 
will, are apt to be deficient in fruit bearing. 

Strawberries with Perfect Flowers. 

Has Longworth Prolific an imperfect bloom? I have Longworths in 
hearing zvhich apparently are perfect. Is there another strain of Long- 
worth that are not self -fertilizing? 

The Longworth Prolific strawberry has both staminate and pis- 
tillate elements. Possibly some other variety, because of its resem- 



Fruit Growing 71 

blance to Longworth and the popularity of it, may have been wrongly 
given its name. Most of the varieties which are largely grown in 
California are perfect in blossom, though some of the newer varieties 
need association with pollinizers. 

Pruning Loganberries. 

Should the new shoots of Loganberry vines, which come out in the 
spring, be left or cut away? If cut, will more shoots put out in the fall 
and be sufficient for the next year's crop? 

The Loganberry shoots which are growing should be carefully 
trained and preserved for next year's fruiting. The old canes should 
be cut away at the base after the fruit is gathered. The plant bears 
each year upon the wood which grew the previous summer. 

Strawberry Planting. 

Should I plant straivberries in the spring or fall? 

Whether it is wise to plant strawberry plants in the fall depends 
on several things, such as getting the ground in the very best of 
condition, abundance of water at all times, splendidly rooted plants, 
and cool weather (which is very rare at the time plants are to be 
planted, August and September). Plants may be taken with balls 
of earth around the roots, and water poured in the hole that re- 
ceives the plant. After planting, each plant should be shaded from 
the sun; after this the ditches must be kept full of water so the 
moisture will rise to the surface; this must be done till the plant 
starts growth. This method can only be used in small plantings, 
as it is too expensive for large plantings, as is also the potted-plant 
method where each plant is grown in a small pot and transplanted 
by dumping out the earth as a ball with the plant and putting 
directly in the ground. From potted plants, set out in the fall, one 
may count on a fine crop of berries the following spring. Straw- 
berry plants are never dormant till midwinter, and there is no plant 
more difficult to transplant when roots are disturbed in the hot season, 
which usually prevails in the interior valleys of California. To have 
a long-lived strawberry field and to get best results, planting must 
be done in the spring, as soon as the soil can be put in best condi- 
tion to receive plants. From this a fall crop can be expected. — Answer 
by Tnbble Bros., Elk Grove. 

Blackberries for Drying Only. 

What variety of blackberries or raspberries are the best for drying 
purposes? Are berries successfully dried in evaporators? This is a 
natural berry country. Wild blackberries are a wonder here. Trans- 
portation facilities do not alloiv raising for the city market. In your 
opinion, zuould the planting of ten acres in berries for drying be a success? 

The blackberries chiefly grown in California are the Lawton, 
Crandall and the Mammoth. The raspberry chiefly grown is the 



72 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Cuthbert. There are very few of these berries dried. It would be 
better to dry them in an evaporator than in the sun, but little of it 
is done in this State. It is doubtful whether it would pay to plant 
blackberries for drying only, because there is such a large product 
now in various places where the berries are either sold fresh or sold 
to the cannery, and drying is only done for the purpose of saving 
the crop if the prices for the other uses are not satisfactory. To 
grow especially for drying would give you only one chance of selling 
to advantage, and that the poorest. 

Planting Bush Fruits. 

What is the best time to set out blackberries and Loganberries f 
Any time after the soil is thoroughly wet down and you can 
get good, mature and dormant plants for transplanting. This may 
be as early as November and may continue until February or later 
in some places. 

Growing Strawberry Plants. 

In a patcli of strazcbcrries planted this spring, is it advisable to cut 
off runners or root some of them? 

In planting strawberries in matted rows, it is usual to allow a 
few runners to take root and thus fill the row. It is the judgment 
of plant growers that plants for sale should not be produced in this 
way, but should be grown from plants specially kept for that purpose. 

Strawberries in Succession. 

Is there any reason, in strazvbcrry culture, when the vines are re- 
moved at the end of the fourth year, zvhy the ground may not be 
thoroughly ploived and again planted to strawberries? 

It is theoretically possible to grow strawberries continuously on 
the same land by proper fertilization and irrigation. Practically, the 
objection is that certain diseases and injurious insects may multiply 
in the land, and this is the chief reason why new plantations are put 
on new land and the old land used for a time for beans or some root 
crop, so that the soil may be cleaned and refreshed by rotation and 
by the possibility of deeper tillage. 

Limitations on Gooseberries. 

Why is it that gooseberries are not grown more in California? Is 
there any reason, climatic or other, why the gooseberry should not be 
as successfully grown in California as elseivhere? 

There are two reasons. First, the gooseberry does not like 
interior valleys, although with proper protection from mildew or by 
growing resistant varieties, good fruit can be had in coast or moun- 
tain valleys. Second, practically no one cares for a ripe gooseberry 
in a country where so many other fruits are grown, and the demand 
is for green gooseberries for pies and sauce, and that is very easily 
oversupplied. 



Fruit Growing 73 

Dry Farming with Grapes. 

/ have heard that they are planting Muscat grapes on the dry farm- 
ing plan. Will it be successful? 

Grapes have been grown in California on the dry farming plan 
ever since Americans came 60 years ago. Grapes can be successfully 
grown by thorough cultivation for moisture retention, providing 
the rainfall is sufficient to carry the plant when it is conserved by 
the most thorough and frequent cultivation. Unless this rainfall is 
adequate, no amount of cultivation will make grape vines succeed, 
because even the best cultivation produces no moisture, but only 
conserves a part of that which falls from the clouds. Whether grapes 
will do depends, first, upon what the rainfall is; second, upon 
whether the soil is retentive; third, upon whether you cultivate in 
such a way as to enable the soil to exercise its maximum retentive- 
ness. These are matters which cannot be determined theoretically — 
they require actual test. 

Cutting Back Frosted Vine Canes. 

Vines have been badly injured by the late frosts, especially the 
young vines which were out the most. Is there anything to be done 
with the injured shoots now on the vines so as to help the prospects 
of a crop? 

If shoots are only lightly frosted they should be cut off at once 
as low as you can detect injury. This may save the lower parts of 
the shoot, from which a later growth can be made. Frosted parts 
ferment and carry destruction downward, and therefore should be 
disposed of as soon as possible. Where vines have run out con- 
siderably and badly frosted, the best practice usually is to strip off the 
frozen shoots so as to get rid of the dormant buds at the base, which 
often give sterile shoots. A new break of canes from other buds is 
generally more productive. 

Dipping Thompson Seedless. 

What is the process of dipping and bleaching Thompson seedless 
grapes? 

One recipe for dipped raisins is as follows: One quart olive 
oil; 54-pound Greenbank soda and 3 quarts water are made into 
an emulsion, and then reduced with 10 gallons water in the dipping 
tank, adding more soda to get lye-strength enough to cut the skins, 
and more soda has to be added from time to time to keep up the 
strength. The grapes are dipped in this solution and sulphured to 
the proper color. This is the general outline of the process. The 
ability to use it well can only be attained by experience and close ob- 
servation. 

The Zante Currant. 

Is the currant that grozcs in the United States in any way related 
to the currant that grozvs in Greece? If so, could it be cured like the 
currant that comes from Greece? 



74 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

The dried currants of commerce are made in Greece and in 
California (to a slight extent) from the grape known as the grape of 
Corinth. They are not made from the bush currant which is gen- 
erally grown in the United States, and the two plants are not in 
any way related. 

Grape Vines for an Arbor. 

Hozv shall I prune grape vines, vis: Tokay, Black Coriiichon, Mus- 
cat, Thompson Seedless, Rose of Peru, planted for a grape arbor? 

You can grow all the vines you mention with high stumps 
reaching part way or to the top of the arbor as you desire side or 
top shade or both. You can also grow them with permanent side 
branches on the side slats of the arbor if you desire. Each winter 
pruning would consist in cutting back all the previous summer's 
growth to a few buds from which new canes will grow for shade or 
fruiting, or you can work on the renewal system, keeping some of 
these canes long for quick foliage and more fruit perhaps and cut- 
ting some of them short to grow new wood for the following year's 
service, as they often do in growing Eastern grapes. 

Pruning Old Vines. 

/ have some Muscat grape vines 30 years old. Can I chop oif 
most of the old zvood ivith a hatchet and thereby bring them back to 
proper bearing? 

Not with a hatchet. If the vines are worth keeping at all, they 
are worth careful cutting with a saw and a painting of all cuts in 
large old wood. If the vines have been neglected, you can saw 
away surplus prongs or spurs, reserving four or five of the best 
placed and most vigorous, and cut back the canes of last summer's 
growth to one, two or three buds, according to the strength of the 
canes — the thicker the canes, the more buds to be kept. It is not 
desirable to cut away an old vine to get a new start from the ground, 
unless you wish to graft. Shape the top of the vine as well as you 
can by saving the best of the old growth. 

Topping Grape Vines. 

Is topping grape vines desirable? 

Topping of vines is in all cases more or less weakening. The 
more foliage that is removed, the more weakening it is. Vines, 
therefore, which are making a weak growth from any cause whatever 
can only be injured by topping. If the vines are exceptionally 
vigorous, the weakening due to topping may be an advantage by 
making them more fruitful. The topping, however, must be done 
with discretion. Early topping in May is much more effective and 
less weakening than later topping in June. Very early topping be- 
fore blossoming helps the setting of the blossoms. Topping in 
general increases the size of the berries. 



Fruit Growing 75 

Bleeding Vines. 

Will pruning grape vines when tlicy bleed injure them? 

It has been demonstrated not to be of any measurable injury. 

Vines and Scant Moisture. 

Would it be zvell to sucker vines and take also some bearing canes 
off, or in a dry year will they mature properly as in other years if the 
ground is in good condition f 

Vines usually bear drouth-stress better than bearing fruit trees. 
On soils of good depth and retentiveness, they are likely to give 
good crops in a dry year with thorough cultivation; still, lightening 
the burden of the vines is rational. Suckering and cutting away 
second-crop efforts should be done. Whether you need to reduce 
the first crop can be told better by the looks of the vines later in 
the season. 

Sulphuring for Mildew. 

For two years I have not sulphured my vineyard and had no mildew. 
My vines seem as healthy and thrifty as any of the neighbors' that were 
duly sulphured. Have I lost anything by not sulphuring? 

Certainly not. In sections where mildew is practically sure to 
come, sulphur should be used regularly as a preventive without waiting 
for the appearance of the disease. There are, however, many loca- 
tions, especially in the interior valley, where the occurrence of mildew 
is rare in sufficient volume to do appreciable harm, and then sulphur- 
ing should depend upon the weather, which favors mildew or other- 
wise. But be always on the watch and have everything ready to 
sulphur immediately; also learn to recognize the conditions under 
which appearances of mildew become a menace. 

Grape Sugar in Canned Grapes. 

Hozv can I prevent the foruiation of grape sugar in canned grapes? 

Take care that the syrup is of the same density as the juice 
of the grape when the fruit and the juice are placed together in the 
can. The density of the syrup and the juice are, of course, to be 
obtained by the use of the spindle, the same arrangement employed 
for determining when the percentage of sugar in the grape juice is 
right for raisin-making or for wine-making. Whatever the density 
of the juice, make the syrup the same by the use of the right amount 
of sugar. 



PART II. VEGETABLE GROWING 



California Grown Seed. 

Which arc the best garden seeds to use, those raised in Ohio and 
the East or those raised in Washington and Oregon or those raised 
in this State? 

It has been definitely shown by experience and experiment that 
is does not matter much where the seed comes from, providing it 
is well grown and good of its kind. There is no such advantage in 
changing seed from one locality to another as is commonly supposed. 
Besides, it is now very difficult to tell positively where seed is grown, 
because California wholesale seeds are retailed in all the States you 
mention, and the contents of many small packets of seeds distributed 
in California went first of all from California to the Eastern re- 
tailers, who advertise and sell them everywhere. 

Cloth for Hotbeds. 

Would cloth do to cover a hotbox to raise lettuce, radishes, etc., for 
winter use zvhere zve get a very heavy rainfall? 

Yes, if you make the cloth waterproof for its own preservation 
from mildew and other agencies of decay. The following recipe for 
waterproofing cloth is taken from our book on "California Vegetables": 
Soften 43^ ounces of glue in 8^ pints of water, cold at first; then 
dissolve in, say, a washboiler full (6 gallons) of warm water, with 
2J/2 ounces of hard soap; put in the cloth and boil for an hour, 
wring and dry; then prepare a bath of a pound of alum and a pound 
of salt, soak the prepared cloth in it for a couple of hours, rinse 
with clear water and dry. One gallon of the glue solution will soak 
about ten yards of cloth. This cloth has been used in southern 
California for several years without mildewing, and it will hold water 
by the pailful. Where the rain is heavy and frequent, the cloth 
should be well supported by slats and given slope to shed water 
quickly. Of course, this is only a makeshift. Glass would be more 
satisfactory and durable in a region of much cloudiness and scant 
sunshine; the greater illumination through glass will make for the 
greater health and growth of the plants. 

Soil for Vegetables. 

Some of my soil bakes and liardeiis quickly after irrigation, but 
I have an acre or so of sandy soil. Would this be best for garden truck 
and berries? 



Vegetable Growing 11 

Sandy, loamy soil is better than the heavy soil for vegetables and 
berries, if moisture is kept right, because it can be more easily cul- 
tivated and takes water without losing the friable condition which is 
so desirable. A heavier soil can, however, be improved by the free 
use of stable manure or by the addition of sand, or by the use of one 
or more applications of lime at the rate of 500 pounds to the acre, 
as may be required — all these operations making the soil more loamy 
and more easily handled. 

Vegetables in a Cold, Dark Draft. 

What vegetables will thrive in localities where the sun shines only 
part of the day? I have a space in my garden that gets the sun only 
between the hours of ii and 5, thereabouts; I ivoiild like to utilize 
those places for vegetables if any particular kind zvill grozv under such 
conditions. The soil apparently is good, of a sandy nature, with some 
loam. The place is high and subject to much wind. 

You can only definitely determine by actual trial what vegetables 
will be satisfactory under the shade conditions which you describe. 
You. may get good results from lettuces, radishes, beets, peas, top 
onions, and many other things which do well at rather a low tem- 
perature, while tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc., would probably be 
worthless. Your soil is probably satisfactory and you can easily 
keep the moisture right by being careful not to use as much water 
as you would in open sunshine. The behavior of the plants will be 
directly dependent upon the temperature and the sunshine which they 
receive under the conditions described. 

Jesusalem Artichokes. 

What is the best time for planting Jerusalem artichokes? 

Jerusalem artichoke tubers are planted in the spring after the 
ground has become warm and the heavy frosts are over. The planting 
may be done in rows far enough apart for cultivation, the tubers 
being set about a foot apart in the row. This tuber grows like a 
potato, but is more delicate than the potato. It is inclined to decay 
when out of the ground, but will not start growth as early as the 
potato, and therefore it is not desirable to start it early in the 
winter if the winters are cold and the ground apt to be very wet. 
Do not cut the tubers for seed as you would potatoes. 

Globe Artichokes. 

/ have land that zvill grozv magnificent artichokes. Two plants last 
year (variety unknozvn) produced heavy crops of buds, but the scales 
opened too zvide and allowed the center to become fibrous and were 
unsalable. Is this due to climate, lack of sufficient zvatcr, or to not 
having the right variety? 

Many artichokes which are planted should really be put in the 
ornamental class — they are either a reversion from a wilder type in 



78 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

plants grown from the seed or they never have been good. In order 
to determine which varieties you had better grow on a large scale, 
it is desirable to get a few plants of the different varieties as offered 
by seedmen. In this way you would find out just what are con- 
sidered best in different parts of the State, and propagate largely the 
ones which are best worth to you. By subdivision of the roots you 
get exactly the same type in any quantity you desire — ruling out 
undesirable variations likely to appear in seedlings. 

Artichoke Growing. 

Is the Globe artichoke a profitable crop to raise commercially?' 
Near Pescadero a company has been formed to raise it for Eastern 
shipment. Is it a very profitable crop to raise? Are certain varieties 
worthless? 

Considerable quantities of Globe artichokes are grown in south- 
ern and central California for Eastern shipment. There is a limit to 
the amount which can be profitably shipped, because people generally, 
at the East, do not know the Globe artichoke and how to eat it, but 
more of them are learning the desirability of it every year. There 
are species which are only ornamental, as a bad weed. 

Asparagus Growing. 

What is the average commercial yield of asparagus to the acre in 
California? Also, how long it takes asparagus to come into full bearing, 
and zvhat yield could be expected after two years' growth? Is asparagus 
resistant to moderate quantities of alkali in the soil? 

The yield of asparagus is from one to four tons of marketable 
shoots per acre, according to age and thrift of plants, etc., the largest 
yields being on the peat lands of the river islands. On suitable lands 
one ought to get at least two tons per acre. Roots may yield a few 
days' cuttings during their second year in permanent place; the third 
year they will stand much more cutting, and for several years after 
that will be in full yielding. Asparagus enjoys a little salt in the 
land, but one would not select what is ordinarily called "alkali land'' 
for growing it — not only because of the alkali but because of the soil 
character which it induces. 

Bean Growing. 

We have a small field of beans, and would like to know zvliich is 
the best and most profitable way to crop them. 

Cultivate the beans so that the plants may have plenty of mois- 
ture to fill the pods, then let them dry and die. Gather the dry 
plants before the pods open much, and let them dry on a clean, 
smooth piece of ground or on the barn floor. When they are well 
dried, thresh with a flail, rake off the straw, sweep up the beans and 
clean by winnowing in the wind or with a fanning mill with suitable 
screens. 



Vegetable Growing 79 

Hoeing Beans. 

Should beans be hoed while the dew is on the vine? 

Beans had better be hoed with the dew on them than not hoed 
at all. The only objection to hoeing with the dew on is that the 
hoer will get his feet wet, the vines will become untidy from adher- 
ing dust, with a possible chance of the leaves becoming less effect- 
ive and the pollination of the blossom rendered less liable to occur. 

Beans as Nitrogen Gatherers. 

/ grow string beans in my rotation to restore nitrogen, but I see it 
stated that not all beans are valuable for this purpose. Are the common 
bush varieties nitrogen gatherers? 

Probably they are all doing it in various degrees. Pull up or 
dig up a few plants when growing actively, not too early nor too 
late in the season, and look for nodules on the roots. Number and 
size considered together will measure their activity in this line in 
your soil. 

Bean Growing. 

/ zvant to plant beans of different varieties. The land is rich, black 
loam with a little sand. When is the best time to plant? If planted 
early, what shall we do to keep the weevils out of them? 

It is desirable to plant beans as early as you can without en- 
countering danger of frost killing. No particular date can be men- 
tioned for planting because the dates will vary in different locations 
according to the beginning of the frost-free period. The best way 
to escape weevil is to sell most of the beans as soon as harvested, 
treating those which you retain for seed, or for your own use, with 
bisulphide of carbon vapor or by gently heating to a temperature 
not above 130 degrees, which, of course, must be done carefully with 
an accurate thermometer so as not to injure germinating power. 
Unless you know that beans do well in your locality, it would be 
wise to plant a small area at first, because beans are somewhat par- 
ticular in their choice of location in California, and one should have 
practical demonstration of bearing before risking much upon the crop. 

The Yard-Long Bean. 

I wish to ask about the very long bean which I think was intro- 
duced from China into California. I remember seeing one vine when 
I was living in California zvhich I think must have been 20 or 30 feet 
long and had hundreds of pods and each of these pods were from 2 to 
3 feet long. Are these beans generally considered eatable? Would they 
be at all suitable to get as a field bean which the hogs eat? 

You probably refer to the "yard-long" pole bean. It is a world 
variety and may have come to California from China as you suggest, 
but it has also been well known for generations in Europe and was 
brought thence to the Eastern States at some early date. It is gen- 



80 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

erally accounted as an unimportant species and certainly has not 
risen to commercial account in California. The beans are edible and 
the whole plant available for stock feeding, but there is no doubt 
but that the growth of some of the cowpeas would be preferable as 
a summer field crop for hog pasture. 

Why the Beans are Waiting. 

Can yon tell inc zdiy pink beans zvhicli zvere planted early in Merced 
county, irrigated four times, hoed four times and cultivated, have no 
beans on them? The vines look finely. 

Probably because you had too much hot, dry wind at the bloom- 
ing. This is one of the most frequent troubles with beans in the 
hot valley, but the pink bean resists it better than other varieties. 
As the heat moderates you are likely to get blossoms which will 
come through and form pods, and then the crop will depend upon 
how long frost is postponed. You have also treated the plants a 
little too well with water and cultivation. You had better let them 
feel the pinch of poverty a little now; they will be more likely to 
go to work. 

Blackeye Beans. 

What is the best zvay to prepare land for Black-eye beans? How 
much seed is required per acre, and zvhat is the estimated cost of groiv- 
ing them? The soil is a zvell-drained clay loam. 

The cost of growing is not particularly different from other 
beans, and will vary, of course, according to the capacity and ef- 
ficiency of the plows, harrows, teams, tractors, men, etc. Every 
man has to figure that according to his conditions and methods of 
turning and fining the land. Sow 40 pounds per acre in drills 3 feet 
apart, and cultivate as long as you can without injuring the vines 
too much. Sowing must of course be done late, after the ground 
is warm and danger of frost is past, though the plowing and har- 
rowing should be done earlier than that. 

Blackeye Beans are Cow Peas. 

/ sent for some Blackeye cozv peas; they look like Blackeye beans. 
Am sending you a sample of zvhat I got. What are they? 

Yes, they are in the cow pea group, but there are other cow peas 
which would not be recognized as having any relation to them. All 
cow peas are, however, beans, and they have not much use for frost. 
They are not hardy like the true pea group. 

Growing Horse Beans. 

Does the soil need to be inoculated for horse beans? I intend to 
plant five acres about January i, on the valley border in Placer county 
and they get heavy frost in the morning. Does frost hurt them? Hozv 
shall I plant them? 



Vegetable Growing 81 

California experience is that horse beans grow readily without 
inoculation of the seed. Quite a good growth of the plant is being 
secured in many parts of the State, particularly in the coast region 
where the plant seems to thrive best. It is one of the hardiest of 
the bean family and will endure light frost. How hardy it will prove 
in your place could be told only by a local experiment. Whether 
it can be planted after frost danger is over, as corn is, and make 
satisfactory growth and product in the dry heat of the interior sum- 
mer must also be determined by experience. 

The horse bean is a tall growing, upright plant which is suc- 
cessfully grown in rows far enough apart for cultivation, say about 
2 1-2 feet, the seed dropped thinly so that the plants will stand from 
6 inches to 1 foot apart in the row. 

Growing Castor Beans. 

Giz'c information on the castor oil bean; the kind of bean best to 
plant, zi'hen to plant and harvest, the best soil, and ivhere one can market 
them. 

Castor bean growing has been undertaken from time to time 
since 1860 in various parts of California. There is no difficulty about 
getting a satisfactory growth of the plant in parts of the State where 
moisture enough can be depended upon. Although the growing of 
beans is easy enough, the harvesting is a difficult proposition, be- 
cause in California the clusters ripen from time to time, have to be 
gathered by hand, to be put in the sun to dry, and finally threshed 
when they are popping properly. The low price, in connection with 
the amount of hand work which has to be done upon the crop, has 
removed all the attractions for California growers. There is also, 
some years, an excess of production in the central West, which 
causes prices to fall and makes it still more impracticable to make 
money from the crop with the ordinary rates of labor. The oil can- 
not be economically extracted except by the aid of the most effect- 
ive machinery and a well equipped establishment. Oil-making in 
the rude way in which it is conducted in India would certainly not 
be profitable here. 

Legume Seed Inoculation. 

Is there any virtue in inoculating plants with the bacteria that some 
seed firms offer? I refer to such plants as peas and beans. 

If the land is yielding good crops of these plants and the roots 
are noduled, it does not need addition of germs. If the growth is 
scant even when there is enough moisture present and the roots are 
free from nodules, the presumption is that germs should be added. 
Speaking generally, added germs are not needed in California be- 
cause our great legume crops are made without inoculation. Pre- 
sumably, burr clover and our host of native legumes have already 
charged the soil with them. If, however, such plants do not do 
well, try inoculation by all means, to see if absence of germs is the 
reason for such failure or whether you must look for some other 



82 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

reason. If the results are satisfactory, you may have made a great 
gain by introduction of desirable soil organisms which you can ex- 
tend as you like by the distribution of the germ-laden soil from the 
areas which have been given that character by inoculation of the 
seed. 

Beans on Irrigated Mesas. 

Would zvhite and pink beans do well on the red orange land at 
Palermo with plenty of water? I have in mind hill land, the hills being 
very red and running into a dark soil in the lower part. How many 
beans could I get per acre? 

Probably nothing would be better for the land or for the future 
needs of the trees than to grow beans. An average crop of beans, 
for the whole State and all kinds of beans, is about one ton to the 
acre. What you will get by irrigation on hot uplands we do not 
know. Beans do not like dry heat, even if the soil moisture is ade- 
quate. They do not fructify well even when they grow well. The 
pink bean does best under such conditions. All beans, except horse 
beans, must be brought up after frost dangers are all over, and this 
brings them into high heat almost from the start in such a place as 
you mention. You should find out locally how beans perform under 
such conditions as you have, before undertaking much investment. 

Leases for Sugar Beets. 

/ have land in Yolo county that has made an average yield yearly 
of from 12 to i8 sacks of zvheat and barley. A beet sugar company 
proposes renting this land and plant it to sugar beets and I would prefer 
not to consider any agreement of less than five years' duration. The 
particular point that I would like to have you advise me on is the effect 
sugar beet has upon the soil. . 

You certainly have good soil, and it is not strange that a sugar 
company should desire to rent it for its purposes. There is, how- 
ever, a great question as to whether it would be desirable to run 
to beets continually for five years. Beets make a strong draft on 
some components of the soil, and it is a common experience that 
they should not be grown year after year for a long period, but 
should take their place in a rotation, in the course of which one or 
two crops of beets should be followed by a crop of grain, and that 
if possible by a leguminous plant like alfalfa or an annual legume 
like burr clover used for pasturage, and then to beets again. Beets 
improve soil for grain, because of the deep running of the root, and 
because beet culture is not profitable without deep plowing and con- 
tinuous summer cultivation. This deepens and cleans the land to 
the manifest advantage of the grain crop, but still the beet reduces 
the plant food in the soil and some change of crop should be made 
with reference to its restoration. We vvould much prefer to lease it 
for two years than for five years of beet growing. 



Vegetable Growing 83 

Topping Mangel Wurzels. 

Does it harm the mangel zvurcels if their tops are cut off once a 
month? 

Removing leaves will decrease the size and harden the tissues 
of the beet root. If you wish to grow the plant for the top, the 
root will continue to put out leaves for you for a time; if you grow 
it for the size and quality of the root, you_ need all the leaf-action 
you can get, therefore do not reduce the foliage. 

Blooming Brussels Sprouts. 

Are Brussels sprouts male and female? Some of my plants are 
flozvering and shozv no signs of sprouts, while those that are not, show 
some small eyes at stem that look like young sprouts. 

Brussels sprouts ought to form the sprouts without flowering, 
just as a cabbage heads without flowering. Those plants which show 
flowers have been stopped by drought or otherwise, and have taken 
on prematurely the second stage of growth which is productive of 
seed and is undesirable from the point of view of growing heads. 

Blanching Celery. 

/ desire to know the different methods by zvhich the celery is bleached, 
and particularly whether boards or other material other than earth is 
used for this purpose. 

There is some blanching of celery with boards, cloth wrappings, 
boot-legs, old tiles, sewer pipes, etc., in market gardens in different 
parts of the State, but the great commercial product of celery for 
export is blanched wholly by piling the light, dry earth against the 
growing plant. As we do not have rains during the growing season 
and as the soil on which celery is chiefly grown is particularly coarse 
in its texture, there is no rusting or staining from this method of 
blanching. It shakes out clean and bright. Conditions which make 
earth-blanching undesirable in the humid region do not exist here. 

Corn in the Sacramento Valley. 

Is it practical to raise corn in the Sacramento valley? Are the soil 
and climatic conditions suitable? 

The success of corn on plains and uplands in the Sacramento 
valley has not yet been fully demonstrated, although good corn is 
grown on river bottom lands, and it is possible that much more may 
be done with this grain in the future than in the past. Corn does 
not enjoy the dry heat of the plains, and even when irrigated seems 
to be dissatisfied with it. How far we shall succeed in getting varie- 
ties which will endure dry heat and still be large and productive will 
ere long be determined by the experiments which are in progress. 
The old Sacramento valley farmer has been justified to some degree 
in his conclusion that his is not a corn country. Still it may appear 
so later. 



84 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Plant Corn in Warm Ground. 

/ also l^ut ill a lot of corn and none of it came up. The ground 
zvas damp and rather cold, as zvcll as being alkali. 

Corn sliouUl never be planted in cold, wet ground — in fact, very 
few seeds should be. Besides, corn has no use for alkali. 

Sweet Corn in California. 

/ have been informed that szvcet corn cannot be raised Ut this part 
of the country, on account of zvorms eating the kernels before the ear 
has matured. Is there any method of overcoming this difficulty? 

You have been correctly informed concerning the difficulty in 
growing sweet corn. Although many experiments have been made, 
no method of overcoming this pest has yet been demonstrated. For 
this reason canning of corn is not undertaken in this State, and for 
the same reason most of the green corn cars sold in our markets 
have the tops of the ears amputated. It is sometimes possible to 
escape the worm by planting rather late, so that the ears shall de- 
velop after the moth, which is parent of the worm, has deposited 
its eggs. 

Forcing Cucumbers. 

Give information on grozciiig hot-house cucumbers, and also if you 
think it zvould pay me to go into the business in southern California. 

Forcing of cucumbers has been undertaken for a number of years 
in California and formerly was considered unprofitable because cu- 
cumbers grown in the open air in frostless places came in before 
the forced product could be sold out at sut^ciently high prices to 
make the venture profitable. Recently, however, owing to our in- 
creased population in cities and larger demand of products out of 
season, forcing becomes more promising and is worthy of attention. 
Forcing of cucumbers in California can be done at very much less 
expense, of course, than elsewhere, because of the abundance of 
winter sunshine and the fact that sufficiently high temperatures can 
be secured in glass houses with exceedingly little if any artificial 
heat. The chances of growing cucumbers out of season for ship- 
ment eastward and northward can be discussed with the officers of 
the California Vegetable Growers' Union, which has offices and ware- 
house in Los Angeles. 

Cucumber Growing. 

/ have a piece of red so-called orange land zi'liieh lias produced ex- 
cellent zvheat. Will you give information about its adaptability to cu- 
cumbersf Are there pickle factories in the State zchieh zwuld demand 
them in quantities, and is there much other demand for themf About 
zvhen should they be planted, and hozv much zcater zi'ould they need? 

The cucumber needs a retentive soil which docs not crack and 
bake, and such a soil is made by abundance of organic matter. Your 
orange soil, unless heavily treated with stable manure and given 



Vegetable Growing 85 

plenty of time for disintegration, would probably give you distress- 
ful cucumber plants, if it has come right out of wheat-growing. Be- 
sides, cucuml)crs do not like dry heat, even if the soil be kept moist 
by irrigation. Oranges will do well under conditions not favorable 
to cucumbers. Cucumber plants must come up after danger of frost 
is over. The amount of water they require depends upon how moist 
the soil is naturally, and as the crop is chiefly grown on moist river 
lands and around the bay, it is chiefly made without irrigation. Such 
lands have a cucumber capacity equal to the consumption of the 
United States, probably, and the pickle factories can usually get all 
they can use at a minimum transportation cost. Large-scale plant- 
ings should only be made by men who know the crop and have defi- 
nite information or contract for what they can get for it. 

Ginger in California. 

IVe have ginger roots in a growing condition zvith sprouts and bulbs 
groiving on them, but zve do not understand hozv to raise the plants. 

Growing ginger in California in a commercial way has not been 
worked out, although roots have been introduced from time to time. 
Plant your roots in the garden, just as you would callas, where you 
can give them good cultivation and water, as seems to be necessary, 
and note their behavior under these favorable conditions before you 
undertake any large investment in a crop. 

Licorice Growing in California. 

/ have for some time been seeking for some inforniatioii as to the 
method of preparation for market and sale of licorice roots. I have a 
lot of them and have never been able to find a market, and do not know 
hozv they are prepared for market. 

Licorice was first planted in California about 1880 by the late 
Isaac Lea, of Florin, Sacramento county. Mr. Lea grew a consider- 
able amount of licorice roots and gave much effort to finding a mar- 
ket for it. He found that the local consumption of licorice root was 
too small to warrant growing it as a crop; that the high price of 
labor in digging the roots, and the high cost of transportation of 
the roots to Eastern markets would make it impossible for him to 
undertake competition iji the Eastern markets with the Sicilian pro- 
ducers, unless, perhaps, he could build an extracting factory and 
market licorice extract, the black solid which is sold by the drug- 
gist, and which the Sicilians produce in large (juantitics. The prep- 
aration of licorice root is simply digging and drying, but the prep- 
aration of the extract requires steam extractors and condensers. 
California could produce licorice, for we have a good climate for it. 
If it is grown on light, sandy loams, it could be pulled from the 
ground by the yard at rather small expense, and yet, one should not 
undertake the production unless he wished to put in much time and 
money in working up economical production and marketing in com- 
petition with the foreign product, produced by cheap labor and with 



86 One Tuous.xNn Questions in Agriculture 

the advantage of processes well known and established by long 
usage. Experiments should be circumspectly undertaken, for licorice 
is one of the worst weeds in tlie world, and extremely difficult of 
eradication probably. 

Growing Lentils. 

Give information regarding the planting and raising of lentils. Can 
tlicy be grozvn in the Sacracmnto valley in the vicinity of Colusa, and 
at a profit? 

Lentils are as easily grown in California as common peas, and 
will do well as a field crop if started during the rainy season, as they 
are hardy enough to survive our ordinary valley frosts. With respect 
to lentils, it may be said that excellent as these legumes are for many 
purposes, they do not seem to be well known to American consum- 
ers, and therefore the amount to be grown is limited, until you know 
who will buy larger (luantitics of them at a good price. 

Canada Peas for Seed. 

/ want to raise Canada peas for the seed. In zvhat ino)ith of the 
year is the best time to plant them; also how many pounds to the acre 
to be solved broadcast on rolling land in Napa? 

Broadcast from 80 to 100 pounds of seed per acre as soon as 
you can get the ground into good condition. What you get will 
depend much upon how late spring rains hold this year. We should 
only try a small area this year to see what happens, for you probably 
should have started earlier in the season. On uplands it will always 
be a question whether your soil will hold moisture enough to mature 
a good seed crop. 

Growing Niles Peas. 

How shall I plant and handle a crop of A'iles peas? 

Nilcs peas are hardy and will make a good crop on any good 
soil, if planted early in the season so as to make the main part of 
their growth before the heat of the summer comes on. Under gar- 
den conditions they can. of course, be grown all summer. 

Transplanting Lettuce. 

/ Iiave lettuce plants that have been transplanted to head. Occasion- 
ally I find a head that has withered away and upon examining it find it 
rotted azvay at the stem. Can you suggest a remedy for it? 

Your lettuce plants are destroyed by the "damping ofT" fungus. 
It would be preventable by reducing the amount of moisture until 
the transplanted plant had op]iortunity to re-establish itself in tlio 
soil and thus come into condition to fake water. The chance of it 
could also be reduced by using a certain amount of sand in connec- 
tion with the soil, unless it is already very sandy, and by a shallow 
covering of sand on the surface around the plants after they are re- 
set, in order to prevent too great accumulation of moisture. 



Vf-getabi-k Growing 87 

Handling Winter Melons. 

Give particulars regarding harvesting, sioraging, and shipment of 
winter melons. How do you harvest and pack them for distant market? 

There is no particular system in the handling of winter melons. 
They are gathered into i)iles on ground where water will not gatiier 
and covered with the trash of the vines on which they grow. They 
will keep for months in this way, as our autumn temperatures do 
not freeze them. Other growers collect them in open sheds shaded 
from sun and rjin, and still others put them into barns or shallow 
cellars under buildings, etc. The melons are very durable and seem 
disposed to keep in any old way. The melons are shipped in large 
packing 'cases with slat sides, or in the smaller slat crates that are 
used for sunmier cantaloupes. No packing is used, generally. If 
it seemed necessary, a little clean straw would be sufficient. 

Ripe Melons. 

Hoiv can I tell zvhen a watermelon is fully ripe? What is the inellmd 
used by groivers in picking for commercial shipping? 

Gently press the sides of a nulnn and if it crackles a little bit, 
all right; if it makes no sound then go to another. Commercial 
pickers look at the little spiral between the melon and the nearest 
leaf. If it is withered they pick the melon, if fresh, pass it until 
next picking. 

Growing Onion Seed and Sets, 

Will you give localities of the leading production of onion seed or 
dry sets in your State? 

Onion seed is grown in sever;il ])arls of the Slate, largely in tiic 
Santa Clara valley adjacent to the city of San Jose. Onion sets are 
largely produced in Orange county, near Los Angeles, for eastern 
shipment, for which purjiose they are grown under contract. 

Ripening Onions. 

/ am raising some onions from bottom sets and as they are grotving 
nicely and are beginning to swell at the bulb some advise me to cut the 
tops off and some advise me to bend them over or tramp them down. 

Do not cut off the tops of the onions. If they seem to be over- 
growing and not disposed to ripen the bulb, the top can be broken 
down, thus partly arresting the vegetative energy of the plant and 
causing maturity. 

Onions from Sets. 

Will onion sets planted in July groiv and mature in the fall numlhs? 

Good onion sets grown during the winter and spring should be 
mature by July and if planted after drying would proceed to make 
a full growth of large onions if growing conditions should be right 
for them; that is, the soil moist and the temperature not too high. 



88 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

How Many Crops of Onion Seed? 

Does the groiving of onion seed exhaust adobe hud, and if so, how 
many years' cropping before it requires rest or fertilising^ 

The growth of any seed crop, including cereal grains, of course, 
makes a supreme draft upon soil fertility. How long a certain soil 
can stand it, depends upon the amount of fertility it has when the 
draft begins. The best rough way to tell how it is going, is to watch 
the growth and crop, when moisture conditions are known to be 
favorable. If you get a good growth of the plant it is still good to 
make the seed. 

Onions from Seed. 

Will onions from seed mature the same season if they are irrigated f 
Some tell us they will not, so we tvould be very much pleased to hear 
from you. 

Onions grown from the seed do fully develop during the grow- 
ing season following the planting of the seed. In fact, nearly all 
California onions are grown in that way. Our growing season is so 
long that we do not need to use onion sets to any extent, as they 
do in short-summer climates. 

Dry Farming with Chili Peppers. 

// / set chili pepper plants doivn six or eight inches lower than the 
surface of the ground and fill in as the plants grow larger, will this help 
in case I could not get zvater enough? My soil is a deep sandy loam. 
Wc have had betivcen five and six inches of rain. Do you think zvater 
every fifteen days zvould be enough? 

On such light soil as you mention, the plants can be planted 
deeply and a certain amount of soil brought up to the plants by 
cultivation without injury. As this plant has a long growing season 
and matures its crop rather late, you will undoubtedly need irriga- 
tion. Probably irrigation twice a month will be sufficient in con- 
nection with good cultivation, but you will have to watch the plants 
and apply the water as it seems to be needed, rather than by a spe- 
cific scheme of days. 

Harvesting Peanuts. 

/ zvould like information regarding the curing of peanuts. Should 
they be bleached, and, if so, hozv is it done? Does blcachi)ig affect the 
keeping qualities? 

It is not usual to bleach peanuts. They should be grown in 
such light soil that they will not be stained, and the common method 
of curing is to dig or plow up, throw the vines, with nuts attached, 
into windrows and allow them to lie a week or ten days for drying. 
Then the nuts are picked into sacks and cleaned before shipment in 
revolving drums, followed by a grain fan which throws out the light 
nuts and other rubbish. Bleaching would not destroy the keeping 
quality probably, but it would destroy the flavor and the germinating 
power. The latter would not matter, except with such nuts as you 



Vegetable Growing 89 

wish to keep for seed, because the roasting destroys the germinating 
power also, but sulphuring, which would reduce the flavor, would 
give the product a bad name. Possibly some growers do bleaching, 
but, if so, they have to be pretty careful about it. The cost of the 
operation would also be a bar to profit, for peanuts are grown on a 
narrow margin owing to competition with importations grown with 
cheap labor. 

Adobe and Peanuts. 

Is adobe land good for the peanut? Is it harder to start than in 
other soils or not? 

It is not good at all. Peanuts require the finest, mellowest loam 
with sand enough to prevent crust, and moisture even and con- 
tinuous. The surface must be kept loose so that the plant can bury 
its own bloom stem and the under soil light and clean so that it will 
readily shake from the nuts and not stain them. Adobe is the worst 
soil you could find for peanuts. 

Cutting Potatoes. 

What zvoiild he the most profitable potato to plant in the Salinas val- 
ley, and hoiv small can a potato be cut up for planting? Hozv many eyes 
should each piece contain in order to make a good grozvth and be profit- 
able? 

Probably the best potato for your district would be the Burbank, 
which is largely grown near Salinas and brings the highest price. 
It is customary to cut a medium-sized potato in two pieces and a 
large one in four pieces. One can be very economical of seed by 
smaller cutting, but it would require the most favorable conditions 
to bring a vigorous growth. Probably pieces weighing not less than 
two ounces would be best under ordinary conditions. Potatoes which 
are rather small may be used for seed if well matured and have good 
eyes. It is dangerous, however, to use the small stufif — too small 
for sale. Unless the soil and moisture conditions are extra favor- 
able, the growth will be weak and unsatisfactory. 

Potato Planting. 

How many sacks of potatoes are to be planted to an acre, and hozv 
many eyes are to be left in a seed? If, for instance, zue plant seed zvith 
three eyes, hozv many potatoes should zve get from that vine? 

Potatoes are planted all the way from five to fifteen sacks to 
the acre, probably about ten sacks being the average. There is no 
particular number of eyes specified in preparing the seed, according 
to common practice. Good medium-sized potatoes are generally cut 
in two pieces crosswise, and large potatoes in four pieces, cutting 
both ways. There is no definite relation between the number of 
eyes planted and the number of potatoes coming from them. This 
has been the subject of innumerable experiments, and the conclusion 
is that the crop is more dependent upon good soil and favorable 
growing conditions than upon any way of preparing the seed. 



90 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Northern Potatoes for Seed. 

Do you regard northern-grown seed potatoes sufficiently better to 
make it zvorth zvhile paying freight on them from the State of Wash- 
ington? 

Experience sems to indicate the superiority of northern-grown 
seed potatoes, not only in this State, but on the Atlantic Coast, and 
they are largely depended upon. Systematic demonstration by com- 
parative tests has been made by the Vermont station and preference 
for northern-grown seed seems to be justified. 

Potato Planting. 

/ have ten acres of land in Placer county zvhich I propose to put 
into potatoes next spring. It has been recommended to me to put pota- 
toes in as early as January. It seems to me that January is rather early; 
hoivever, it is said that this land is in the orange belt and practically 
free from frost. 

Whether you can plant potatoes to advantage in January or not 
depends upon the temperatures which you are likely to meet after 
that date, also whether the ground is warm enough in January, be- 
cause there is no advantage in planting in cold ground nor in soil 
that is too wet at the time. The earliest potatoes, of course, come 
from planting much earlier than January; usually as soon as the 
ground is moistened enough in the autumn. The potato will stand 
some frost, but autumn planting is not feasible in places which are 
under hard freezing or receive too much cold rain water. 

Potatoes Should be Planted Early. 

/ have Early Rose potatoes planted about May first. The tops look 
fine, but there are fczv potatoes and small, and, though not developed, 
have commenced grozving a second time, sprouts starting from the nczv 
Potatoes. When should I plant and what care should they have? 

Your potatoes act peculiarly because of intermittent moisture — 
the plant being arrested by drought and then starting again, which 
is very undesirable. To avoid this, potatoes should be planted earlier 
so as to get a large part of their growth during the rainy season. 
If planted late the ground should be well wet down by irrigation, 
and then plowed and cultivated, and irrigation should be used while 
the plant is growing well. If this is done, potatoes can be success- 
fully grown by irrigation, but if the land is allowed to become dry 
the plant is arrested in its growth for a time and a second and unde- 
sirable growth is started. 

Potato Balls. 

I find in potato zvritings of forty years ago that the seed from the 
potato balls which form on the tops of the plants is recommended for 
grozving the best potatoes. In later books I find no mention of them 
and all are advised hozv to cut the tubers to get seed potatoes. 



Vegetable Growing 91 

The seed of the potato plant which is. found in the "balls" which 
develop on the tops of the plant is only valuable for the origination 
of new varieties, with the chance, of course, that most of them will 
be inferior to the tubers produced by the plant which bears the seed. 
Therefore, these seeds are of no commercial importance. There has 
also sometimes developed upon the top of the plant what is called 
an aerial tuber, which is even of less value than the seed ball, be- 
cause it does not contain seed nor is it good as a tuber. 

Forty years ago there was a great demand for newer and better 
kinds of potatoes which has, since that time, been largely supplied, 
and commercial potato-growing consists in multiplying the standard 
varieties which best suit the soil and the market. This is done by 
planting the tuber itself, which is really a root-cutting and therefore 
reproduces its own kind. Those who are originating new kinds of 
potatoes still use seed from the balls, either taking their chances by 
natural variation or, by hybridizing the blossoms, increasing the 
chances for variation from which desirable varieties are taken by 
selection, to be afterward miultiplied by growth from the tubers. 

Seed-Ends of Potatoes. 

Is it bad practice to plant the seed-ends of potatoes? 
The seed-end of the potato is the least valuable part of it, but 
it is better probably to plant than to reject it. 

The Moon and Potato Planting. 

Is there any foundation to the oft-repeated story about potatoes in 

the light of the moon running to tops and the dark of the moon to spuds? 

If we paid any attention to the moon in planting, we should 

plant in the dark of the moon so as to give the plant opportunity to 

make use of whatever additional light the full moon afforded. 

Planting Whole Potatoes. 

One man states the only way to cut seed is to take a potato and cut 
the ends off and not divide the potato any more; or, in other ivords, a 
zvhole potato for each seed. 

Good results are obtained by planting whole potatoes, but in that 
case there is no advantage in removing the ends. 

How to Cut Seed Potatoes. 

Would it pay in returns to use large potatoes for seed in preference 
to culls? 

Large potatoes are better than culls, but medium-sized potatoes 
are better than either. Many experiments have been made to deter- 
mine this. At the Arkansas station whole tubers two to three inches 
in diameter yielded 18 per cent more than small whole tubers three- 
quarters to one and one-quarter inches in diameter, and large cut 
tubers yielded 15.8 per cent more than small cut tubers. 



92 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Cutting Potatoes to Single Eyes. 

Some sav only one eve to a piece; others say several eyes — xvhich is 
better? 

In one experiment potatoes cut to single eyes with each piece 
weighing one-sixteenth of an ounce yielded 44 bushels to the acre, 
while single eyes on two-ounce pieces yielded 177 bushels to the acre. 
Experiments in Indiana showed that the yield usually increased with 
the weight of the set and that the exact number of eyes per cutting 
is relatively unimportant. 

Potato Scab. 

Can potatoes be treated in any zvay before planting to prevent the 
nezv ones from being wliat is called "scabby"? 

There are two successful treatments for scab in potatoes. One 
is dipping in a solution of corrosive sublimate. Dissolve one ounce 
in eight gallons of water and soak the seed potatoes in this solution 
for one and one-half hours before cutting. This treatment kills the 
scab spores which may be upon the exterior of the potatoes. More 
recently, however, to avoid danger in handling such a rank poison 
as corrosive sublimate, formaldehyde has been used, and one pint of 
commercial formaldehyde, as it is bought in the stores, is diluted 
with thirty gallons of water, and potatoes are soaked in this for two 
hours. Thirty gallons of this dip ought to treat about fifty bushels 
of potatoes. 

Double-Cropping with Potatoes. 

/ am told that here tzvo crops of potatoes can be raised by planting 
the second crop in August. I have five acres xvhich ivill be ready to dig 
in July. Can I dig these potatoes and use them for seed at once for an- 
other crop, or zvon't they grozv? I have a crop of barley, and as it is 
Iieading out nozv, I zvant to put potatoes on the ground after I take the 
barley off. I have plenty of zvater to irrigate. 

If your potatoes ripen in July and you allow those which you 
desire for seed to lie upon the ground and become somewhat green- 
ish, they are likely to sprout well for a second crop. They should 
not, however, be planted immediately. Whether you get a second 
crop successfully or not depends upon how early the frosts come in 
your, district. Whether you get potatoes after barley or not depends 
also upon how much moisture there remains in the soil. By irrigat- 
ing thoroughly after harvesting the grain and then plowing deeply 
for potatoes, you would do vastly better than to plant in dry ground 
and irrigate afterward. 

When to Plant Potatoes. 

/ haz'e been pucded to understand potato grozving in California. 
Do you have more than one cropping season, and if so, about zvhat dates 
are they due? 

Every month in the year potatoes are being put into the ground 
and being taken out of the ground somewhere in California. We 



Vegetable Growing 93 

have, then, practically a continuous planting and harvesting season. 
There is, however, a division possible to make in this way: Plant- 
ings undertaken in September and October are for winter supplies 
of new potatoes, which begin about the holidays and continue during 
the winter. There is also in southern California a planting beginning 
in January, which might be called the earliest planting for the main 
crop, and other plantings for the main crop in the central and north- 
ern parts of the State begin in February and continue until May, 
according to the character of the land; that is, whether it is upland, 
on which the planting is earlier, or whether it is lowland along the 
rivers where excessive moisture mav render the land unsuitable until 
April or May. The harvesting of the main crop then begins in May 
and continues during the whole of the summer, according to the 
character of the land cropped over, lapping the planting time for 
early potatoes first mentioned. It is also true by use of properly 
matured seed one can secure, in some places, two crops a year, if 
there is sufficient inducement therefor. Thus it comes about that 
we are continually planting and digging potatoes according to local 
conditions and the possibility of selling advantages. 

Keeping Potatoes. 

Advise me how to keep my potatoes. What is the best way? Would 
a dark room he suitable? Some people are digging holes in the ground 
to put them in. 

Potatoes, if properly matured and free from disease, will keep 
for a considerable time in dark rooms kept as cool as possible. They 
must be kept away from the reach of the moth, which is parent to 
the worm producing long black strings inside of the potato. If they 
are thoroughly covered with boards or sacking or straw, so as to 
keep the moth from reaching the potato, they may be held for a 
long time in the open air, and covering with earth, as your neighbors 
are doing, will be all right until the rains come and cause decay by 
making the soil too wet. The main point is to keep the tubers as 
cool as possible and out of reach of the potato moth. 

Potato Yield. 

What is the yield per acre of potatoes on the best land around Stock- 
ton, Cal., zvhere zuork is done properly; also tvhat is the yield for pota- 
toes along the coast? 

The average yield of potatoes in California, taking the whole 
acreage and product as reported by the last United States census, 
is 147 bushels to the acre. In Stockton district, on good new re- 
claimed land the yield has been reported all the way from 300 to 800 
bushels per acre — the crop declining raoidly when continued on the 
same land. One year's crop in the Stockton district was estimated 
at 45,000 acres averaging 125 sacks per acre. The coast yield would 
be more like the general average for the State as first given. 



94 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

New Potatoes for Seed. 

Can I plant American Wonder potatoes for the £rst crop, and let 
cnougJi of them mature to use for seed for the second crop, to he 
planted the first or middle of July? 

It is possible to use potatoes grown the same year as seed for 
the later crop, providing you let the potatoes mature first by the 
complete dying down of the vines, and second by digging the pota- 
toes allow them to lie in the open air, with some protection against 
sun-burning, until the potatoes become somewhat greenish. If this 
is the case the eyes will develop and seed will grow, while without 
such treatment you might be disappointed in their behavior. Of 
course, the question still remains whether it would be desirable to 
do this or to plant some later variety earlier in the season when the 
growing conditions would be better. 

Potato Growing. 

In what locality are the best early potatoes groivn in California? 
Can they be raised on zvheat lands zvithout irrigation as an early crop? 

Early potatoes are grown in regions of light frosts in all parts 
of the State — around the bay of San Francisco, on the mesas in 
southern California, and to some extent at slight elevations in the 
central part of the State. The potato endures some frost, but one 
has, for an early crop, to guard against the locations subject to hard 
freezing. Most of our potatoes are grown without irrigation because, 
on uplands, winter temperatures favor their growing during the rainy 
season. The middle-season and late potatoes are grown on moist 
lowlands where irrigation is not necessary. In proper situations, 
much of the land- which is used for potatoes has at some time pro- 
duced wheat or barley, corn or sorghum, and other field crops. 

Potatoes After Alfalfa. 

/ have been a successful potato groiver in Ohio. I have the best 
alfalfa soil and it is now in its fourth year of productiveness in that 
crop. I zvoidd like to grozv potatoes in a small zvay. 

Proceed just as you would at the East in getting potatoes upon 
a red clover sod. Turn under the alfalfa deeply now if the soil will 
work well, and roll your sandy soil. You must use a sharp plow 
to cut and cover well. If there is moisture enough the alfalfa, plowed 
under in the fall, ought to be decayed by February, when you could 
plant potatoes safely, probably, unless your situation is very frosty. 
If you plant early you ought to get the crop through without irriga- 
tion if you cultivate well and keep the land flat. 

Flat or Hill Culture for Potatoes. 

Is it better to hill potatoes or not? 

During the dry time of the year potatoes should be grown with 
flat cultivation, except as it may be necessary to furrow out between 



Vegetable Growing 95 

the rows for the application of irrigation water. Potatoes grown 
during the rainy season in places where there is liable to be too much 
water, can often be hilled to advantage, but dry-season cultivation 
of practically everything should be as flat as possible to retain moist- 
ure near the surface for the development of shallow-rooting plants. 

Bad Conditions for Potatoes. 

Our potatoes were planted early and were frosted several times while 
young. As zve come to harvest them zve find them zvith very large green 
tops but the potatoes are about the size of a hen's egg and from that 
they run down to the size of a pea. The larger ones are beginning to 
send out roots, four or five to a potato. The potatoes have not been 
irrigated lately and the ground they are in is dry. 

The ugly behavior of your potatoes is doubtless due to irregu- 
larities in temperature and moisture which have forced the plants 
into abnormal or undesirable activity. Potatoes should have regular 
conditions of moisture so that they shall proceed from start to finish 
and not stop and start again, for this will usually make the crop 
unsatisfactory and worthless. Excessive moisture is not desirable, 
but the requisite amount in continuous supply is indispensable. 

Potatoes on Heavy Land. 

Will potatoes grow zvell in adobe land, or partly adobe, that has not 
been used for seven years except for pasturing? 

Although potatoes enjoy best of all a light loam in which they 
can readily expand, it is possible to get very good results on heavy 
land which has been used for pasturage for some years, providing 
the land is broken up early and deeply and harrowed well in advance 
of planting and thorough cultivation maintained while the crop is 
growing. The content of grass roots and manure which the land has 
received during its period of grazing tends to make the soil lighter 
and will also feed the plant well. For this reason better potatoes 
are had on heavy land after pasturage than could be had on the same 
land if continually used for grain or for some other crop which 
tended to reduce the amount of humus and to make the land more 
rebellious in cultivation. 

Storage of Seed Potatoes. 

We need potatoes for late planting and have found a good lot which 
is being held in cold storage at temperatures from 34 to 36 degrees F. 
They have not been there long, however. Would that hurt them for seed, 
and also hoiv long could they be safely left there now before planting? 

Seed potatoes would not be injured in storage, providing the 
temperature is not allowed to go below the freezing point. They 
should not, however, be allowed to remain longer in storage, but 
should be exposed to the sun for the development of the eyes, even 
to the sprouting point being desirable before planting. The greening 



96 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

of the potato by the sun is no disadvantage. We would not think 
of planting potatoes directly from storage, because, owing to the lack 
of development in the eyes, decay might get the start of germination. 

Potatoes and Frosts. 

Can I keep frost off of potato tops by building smudge fires f I 
ivould lik: to plant about February i, but we usually have a few light 
frosts here during March. If I were to turn water in the field when too 
cold, would that keep the frost off, and if so, would I have to turn water 
dozmi each rozv, or ivould one furrow full of water to abotJ every fourth 
or sixth row be enough f 

You can prevent frost by smudging for potatoes just as you can 
for other vegetables. The potato, however, needs little protection of 
this kind and will endure a light frost which would be destructive 
to tomatoes, melons, and other more tender growths. Unless you 
have a very frosty situation, you can certainly grow potatoes without 
frost protection, and they should be planted earlier than February 
first if the ground is in good condition. The great secret of success 
in growing potatoes in southern California is to get a good early 
start before the heat and drought come on. Water will protect from 
frost if the temperature only goes to about 28 degrees and does not 
stay there too long. The more water there is exposed the longer 
may be the protection, but probably not against a lower temperature. 

Growing Sweet Potato Plants. 

How shall I make a hot-bed to raise sweet potato plants? I don't 
mean to put glass over bed, but want full description of an up-to-date 
outfit for raising them. 

Manure hot-beds have been largely abandoned for growing sweet 
potato slips, though, of course, you can grow them that way on a 
small scale or for experiment. In the large sweet potato districts, 
elaborate arrangements for bottom heat by circulation of hot water 
or steam are in use. In a smaller way hot air works well. The Ari- 
zona Experiment Station tells how a very good sweet potato hot-bed 
at little cost is constructed as follows: A frame of rough boards 
seven feet wide, twenty feet long and fourteen inches deep is laid 
down over two flues made by digging two trenches one foot deep 
and about two feet wide, lengthwise of the bed. These trenches are 
covered with plank or iron roofing, and are equipped with a fire pit 
at one end and short smokestack at the other. 

Four inches of soil is filled into this bed and sweet potatoes 
placed upon it in a layer which is then covered with two or three 
inches more of soil. Large potatoes may be split and laid flat side 
down. The whole bed is then covered with muslin, operating on a 
roller by which to cover and uncover the bed. Thus prepared, the 
bed may easily be kept at a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees F. by 
smouldering wood fires in the fire boxes. The potatoes, kept moist 
at this temperature, sprout promptly and will be ready to transplant 



Vegetable Growing 97 

in about six weeks. A bed of the size mentioned will receive five to 
seven bushels of seed roots, which will make slips enough to plant 
an acre or more of potatoes. 

Growing Sweet Potatoes. 

Please inform me how to keep sweet potatoes for seed; also how 
many pounds it takes for one acre, and what distance apart to plant, and 
the time to plant. 

Sweet potatoes may be kept from sprouting by storage in a cool, 
dry place. Sweet potatoes are not grown by direct cutting of the 
tuber as the ordinary potato is, but the tubers are put in January or 
later in a hot bed and the sprouts are taken ofif for planting when 
the ground becomes warm and all danger of frost is over in the lo- 
cality. The number of sprouts required for an acre is from five to 
ten thousand, and a bushel of small sweet potatoes will produce 
about two thousand sprouts if properly handled in the hot bed, which 
consists in removing the sprouts when they have attained a height 
of five or six inches, and in this way the potatoes will be yielding 
sprouts in succession for some time. The sprouts are planted in 
rows far enough apart for horse cultivation. They are usually hilled 
up pretty well after starting to grow well. They cannot be planted 
until the danger of frost is over, for they are much more tender 
than Irish potatoes. 

Sweet Potato Growing. 

In planting sweet potatoes, do we have to make hotbeds just like those 
for tomatoes, or if just a plain seed-bed will do? Is it necessary to 
irrigate them or not? 

You can bed your sweet potatoes in a warm place on the sunny 
side of a building or board fence, and get sprouts all right. You 
will, however, get them sooner and in greater numbers by using 
a slow hotbed in which the manure supply is not too large. The 
fact that sweet potato growers do use some artificial heat, either 
from manure or by piping bottom-heat in their propagating houses, 
is a demonstration that such recourse is desirable to get best results. 
The necessity of irrigation depends upon the soil and its natural 
moisture supply. On a fine retentive loam, the crop is chiefly made 
without irrigation, if the plants are all ready to put out in the field as 
soon as it is safe. If you are late in the planting, or if the soil is 
dry or likely to dry before the tubers are grown to good size, 
irrigation, some time ahead of the need of the plant, is essential. 

Sweet Potatoes. 

What kind of soil and climate does it take to grow sweet potatoes, 
and can I grow them in any part of Contra Costa county, and about what 
time is the best to plant them? 

Sweet potatoes do best in a light warm loam which drains well 
and does not bake or crust by rain or irrigation. Sprout the tubers 



98 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

in a hot-bed or cold-frame in February and break off the shoots 
and plant as soon as you are out of danger by frost. Sweet potatoes 
are more tender than common potatoes. There are places in Contra 
Costa county where they do well, though some parts of the county 
do not have enough summer heat. 

Sweet Potatoes Between Fruit Trees. 

/ am expecting to grozv a fall crop of about twenty acres of sweet 
potatoes. The land is a heavy, sandy loam in the interior, zvhich has 
been set out this spring to almonds, apricots and prunes. I wish to grow 
sweet potatoes between trees. Would an irrigation every forty days be 
often enough? Also, if either szveet or Irish potatoes grown between rows 
are harmful to either of the varieties of fruit mentioned? 

We see no reason why you should not get your crop, providing 
you do not have to run the plants into the frosty period, and sweet 
potatoes will not, of course, stand frost as well as the common 
potato. The moisture which you propose to give ought to be enough 
for a retentive soil in connection with good cultivation until the 
vines cover the ground. Growing any crop between orchard trees 
is apt to be an injury to the trees, because of the spaces which are 
not and cannot be adequately cultivated, so that the ground around 
the trees is apt to become compacted either by the run of water or 
the lack of cultivation, or both. Our observation has been that Irish 
potatoes are no more injurious than other crops. Any crop will 
injure young trees if it takes moisture they ought to have or inter- 
feres with good cultivation of the land. 

Giant Japanese Radish. 

In discussing sakurajima (giant Japanese radish) Eastern publications 
advise planting late, about August i, and not earlier than July i. What 
can you tell me about the plant here? 

The Asiatic winter radishes can be successfully planted in Cali- 
fornia in July or August if the soil is thoroughly saturated by 
irrigation before digging and planting. It is, however, not so neces- 
sary to begin early in California as at the East, because our winter 
temperatures favor the growth of the plant, while at the East they 
have to make an early start in order to get something well grown 
before the ground freezes. For the growth of winter radishes, then, 
in California you can wait until the ground is wet thoroughly by the 
rain, which may be expected during September, and afterward you 
can make later plantings for succession at any time you desire during 
the rainy season. This applies to all kinds of radishes. 

Rhubarb Rotting. 

I have planted rhubarb roots in the San Joaquiti valley and find the 
root crozvns rot below the surface. 

The old-fashioned summer rhubarb usually goes off that way in 
very hot localities. If there is too much alkali or hardpan, or if 



Vegetable Growing 99 

planted too late, the same results will be had with any sort of rhubarb. 
Where it is very hot, plants, irrigated in the morning near the plants, 
scald at the crown and die in a few days. If irrigated in the after- 
noon and the ground worked before it gets hot the next day fine 
results are obtained. The winter rhubarb varieties do well in hot 
districts if the roots are planted from September 15 to May 1, while 
in cooler sections, April, May, June and July are the best months 
and will insure a crop the following winter. 

Squashes Dislike Hardship. 

What caused these squashes, of which I send you samples, to be so 
hard and zvoodyf They were grown without irrigation. 

Your squashes were grown without irrigation under conditions 
which were too. dry for them and became inferior in quality. Pos- 
sibly the variety itself is not of good quality or the specimen from 
which the seed was taken may have been inferior. A squash, in order 
to be tender and acceptable, needs rich feeding and plenty of drink. 
Otherwise, it is apt to resent ill treatment by very undesirable growth. 

Harvesting Sunflowers. 

What is the method used in saving or threshing the seed from the 
Giant Russian sunflower? 

Cut ofif the seed heads of your sunflowers when the seed seems 
to be well matured but before any of it falls away from the head. 
Throw these heads on a smooth piece of ground or a tight floor 
and when they become thoroughly dry thresh out the seed with a 
flail, removing the coarse stuff with a rake and afterwards cleaning 
the seed by shoveling it into the wind so that the light stuff may be 
blown away. A more perfect cleaning afterwards could be secured 
with a grain fanning mill or a simple sieve of the right mesh. 

Irrigating Tomatoes. 

How much water does it take (in gallons or cubic feet) to properly 
irrigate an acre of land for tomatoes? The soil is adobe, and the cus- 
tomary way of planting tomatoes is 6 feet apart each way, plowing a 
trench of one furrow zvith the slope of the land for irrigating, that is, 
a trench between every row and a cross trench as a feeder. The land 
is low and in the driest part of the year the surface water is from 2 to 3 
feet beneath the top of the ground. 

It is not possible to state a specific quantity of water for any 
crop, because the amount depends to such a large extent upon the 
retentiveness of the soil, the rate of evaporation and the kind of 
cultivation. The best source of information is the behavior of the 
plant itself, bearing in mind that tomato plants require constant but 
not excessive moisture supply, and that if moisture is applied in excess 
it will promote an excessive growth of the plant, which will cause 
it to drop its blossoms and therefore be unsatisfactory and unpro- 



100 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

ductive. In such land as you describe no irrigation whatever would 
be desirable except in years of short rainfall, and such land, if 
properly cultivated, would always furnish moisture enough by capillary 
action to support the growth of the plant. 

Less Water and More Heat. 

What chemicals should I put into the soil to insure a good crop of 
vegetables, such as tomatoes, string beans, or other over-ground pro- 
ducers? Last year my tomatoes and string beans grew plentifully, but 
never produced any tomatoes or beans, yet turnips and parsnips were all 
right. 

Vegetables which behave like your tomatoes and string beans, 
making too much growth and not enough fruit, do not need fertiliza- 
tion. The land is perhaps too rich already, or you may have used 
too much water. Use less water so that the plants will make a more 
moderate growth, and they will be fruitful if the season is warm 
enough in the later part of summer. This, of course, would be one 
of the drawbacks to growing tomatoes and beans in San Francisco. 
Turnips and parsnips do well with less heat. You may have to 
modify the San Francisco summer climate by wind screens or glass 
covers. 

Continuous Cropping With the Same Plant. 

What would happen on the crops of cucumbers, tomatoes and egg- 
plants, etc, planted on the same place continuously? 

There would be in time a decadence of crop from soil exhaustion, 
but that you could prevent by fertilization. The greatest danger from 
continuously growing these vegetables on the same land is the mul- 
tiplication of bacteria which injuriously afifect them, in the soil. The 
plants which you mention are all subject to "wilt" diseases from this 
cause, therefore, they should have new ground. If you have to use 
the same garden ground continuously, the plants which you mention 
should be rotated with root crops or with other kinds of vegetables, i 
so as to frequently change plants and soil within the general area I 
which has to be used for them. ' 

Big Worms on Tomatoes. 

/ have a nice patch of tomatoes in my garden, and only recently I 
notice large green worms on them ivith one large brown horn on their 
head. They strip the leaves off. They look to me like a tobacco worm. 

They are tobacco worms; that is, they are the larvae of hawk 
moths, some of which take tobacco, tomatoes, grapevines and many 
other plants, including some of the native weeds of your valley. 
Pick them ofif and crush them, or give them a little snip with the 
scissors if you do not like to handle them. They are so large and 
easily found that such treatment is easily applied, as in "worming 
tobacco." 



Vegetable Growing 101 

Loss of Tomato Bloom. 

/ have tomato plants zvhich are very strong and healthy and full 
of blossoms, but there is something cutting the blossoms off and just 
about to ruin my plants. 

The trouble with your tomato plants is that life is too easy for 
them, that they have so much moisture and plant food that they can 
grow comfortably and rapidly without thought of the future. So, 
because they do not have to think of making fruit, the blossoms drop 
ofif. This is a very common occurrence with tomatoes, especially 
in home gardens where the owners have not the experience or the 
information on the subject that they might have, and give the 
tomatoes too much water. Many other plants act the same 
way and will not set fruit while they can grow easily, and only begin 
to produce when they have made a great growth or when moisture 
begins to get a little short. If you irrigate the tomatoes, stop, and 
put no more water on until the plant begins to set fruit as if it meant 
business, or gives some sign that water would be appreciated. If 
the ground is naturally moist you will have to wait until the plants 
make more growth and the weather gets drier and hotter, and the 
plants will then set fruit. Some growers have found that by trim- 
ming up the vine and staking it, the fruit sets much more readily. 



PART III. GRAINS AND FORAGE 

CROPS 

Wants Us to Do the Whole Thing, 

Can you liclp iiw to dctcniiinc a good product to plant somcivhcre 
in California; also zvhat particular section zvould be )nost suitable for 
the raising of that zvhich yoti u'ould adinsci' I zvish a crop of per- 
manent nature (as orchard trees). I also desire advice on some product 
zvhicJi zvould giz'c a quick return zvhile I am zuaiting on the more per- 
manent one to mature and bear. I haz'e not procured land yet, and am 
thinking seriously of trying to get government land, therefore, you are 
free to give me the best location for the raising of that zvhich you zvould 
suggest. I zvant a money-making product and one zvhich is not already 
overdone. 

The choice of crops depends (piite as much upon tlie market 
demand and opportunity as it does upon the suitability of the soil 
and local climate. Choice of crops indeed involves almost the vvliolc 
business of farming, and although we can sometimes give a man 
useful suggestions as to the growth of plants and the protection of 
plants from enemies, we cannot undertake to plan his farming busi- 
ness for him. He must form his own opinions as to what will be 
most marketable, and therefore profitable, if he succeeds in getting 
a good article for sale. A wise man at the East once said: "You 
can advise a man to do almost anything. You can even select a wife 
for him, but never commit the indiscretion of advising him what to 
grow to make money. That is a matter he has to determine for 
himself." 

Pasturing Young Grain. 

Would it be advisable to herd milch cozvs for a fezv hours each day 
on a field of black oats zvhich is to be grown for hay? The oats are nozV' 
about four incites high and rank, as the land zvas pastured last year. The 
land is sandy, rolling soil and zvill soon be dry enough so that the cozvs 
zvould not injure the plants. The idea is that the leaz'cs zvhicJi arc 
green nozv zvill all dry up and are really not the grozvlh zvhich is cut for 
hay; therefore, I should think it zvould do no harm to feed it dozen a 
bit. 

Over-rank grain with abuntlant moisture will make a more stocky 
growth and stand against lodging if pastured or mowed. The leaves 
which you speak of as being lost in the later growth of the plant 
serve an important purpose in making that growth, and removing 
them is a repressive process which is not desirable when rain is 
short. We should allow the plants to push along into as good a 
growth of hay as a dry year's moisture will give. 



Grains and Forage Crops 103 

Dry Plowing for Grain. 

We have land that zve could very easily plozv now zvitli our traction 
engine and improved plozvs, but the people here claim that it does not 
pay to dry-plozu, that is, before the land has had a good rain on it and 
the vegetation has started. I believe in dry plozviiig. Tzvo of our oldest 
farmers in Merced county dry-plowed, that is, they commenced plowing 
as soon as harvesting was over. 

If the rainfall is small and likely to come in light showers, dry 
plowing, if it turns up the land in large clods, might yield poorer 
results than land which is plowed after rain, because there would be 
so much moisture lost by drying out from the coarse surface when 
it came in amounts not adequate for deep penetration. Plowing after 
the rain for the purpose of killing out the foul stuff which starts is, 
however, quite another consideration. It is a fact that dry plowing 
and sowing is not now desirable in some places where it was formerly 
accepted, because the land has become so foul as to give a rank 
growth of weeds which choke out the grain at its beginning. Such 
land can be cleaned by one or two shallow plowings and cultivations 
after there is moisture enough to start the weeds to growing. These 
are local questions which you will have to settle by observation. In 
a general way, it is true that opening the surface of the ground 
before the ranis, reduces the run-off and loss of moisture, but 
whether there would be any loss of moisture by run-off or not depends 
upon the slope of the land and also upon the way in which the rain 
comes, and the total amount of moisture which is available for the 
season. 

Sub-varieties of California Barley. 

Can you tell where I can buy seed of varieties of California six- 
rowed barley, described as "pallidum" and "coerulescens," and what the 
seed zifill cost? 

No one knows where the six-rowed barley, known as "common" 
barley in this State, came from, nor when it came. It has been here 
since the early days and it has naturally shown a disposition to vary, 
so that it is quite possible to select a number of types from any large 
field of it. These variations have been studied to some extent by 
Eastern students who are endeavoring to develop American types of 
barley for brewing purposes as likely to be better than the brewing 
varieties which are famous in Europe. In Europe brewing barleys 
are chiefly two-rowed. Under California conditions the plant is able 
to develop just as good brewing grains on a six-rowed basis, and this 
seems to be a commendable trait in the way of multiplying the prod- 
uct. The names "pallidum" and "coerulescens" indicate two of these 
varieties recognized by Eastern students. It is not possible at this 
time to get even a pound of selected grain true to this type, and no 
one knows when it will be worked out to available quantities. 



104 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Chevalier Barley. 

Has Chevalier barley more value to feed hens for egg production than 
common feed barley or wheat? 

Chevalier barley is no better for chicken feed than any other 
barley which is equally large and plump. Brewers like Chevalier 
because of its fullness of starch to support the malting process; 
also, because it is bright, that is, white, and not stained or tinged 
with bluish or reddish colors. Color points do not count for chicken 
feed, but good plump kernels do. Besides this, however, darker 
kernel (not chaff) usually indicates more protein, and therefore a 
darker kernel of either wheat or barley might be more valuable 
for feeding. A hard, horny kernel is richer than a softer, more 
starchy one, either in wheat or barley. 

Barley on Moist Land. 

What would you do with land subject to oversow by the Sacramento 
when that river rises 20 feet, and which you wanted to plant to barley 
this season? Would you take a chance on the river rising that high this 
year, or wait until after that danger zvas over, and take a chance on not 
getting enough rain to make the grain come up; also, if the river did 
come up for 48 hours after the grain zvas in, but did not zvash, would the 
grain be lost? Should the grain be planted deeper than on ordinary land, 
and, if so, should a drill be used? How much seed should be sozvn per 
acre on good river-bottom soil? 

Get the barley in and watch for the overflow rather than to 
fear it. An overflow for 48 hours would give you the greatest crop 
you ever saw, unless it should be in a settling basin and the water 
forced to escape by evaporation. From your description we judge 
that this is not so and that the land clears itself quickly from an 
overflow. Depth of sowing depends upon the character and con- 
dition of the soil — the lighter and drier the deeper. By all means 
use a drill if the soil is dry on the surface. Short rainfall makes 
the advantage of drill seeding most conspicuous. On the University 
Farm 22 trials gave an average gain of over 10 per cent in yield. 
The difference would be much greater in a dry year; it might be 
25 per cent greater, possibly, and save high-priced seed at the same 
time, as about 90 pounds of seed per acre will do, instead of 120 
pounds broadcast, in accordance with the approved heavy seeding 
practice on the river lands. 

Barley and Alfalfa. 

/ have some alfalfa zvhich is a poor stand. Can I disc it up heavily 
and seed in some barley for winter pasture? 

You can get barley into your alfalfa as you propose, but you 
should not seed until fall. The more barley you get into your 
alfalfa, however, the less alfalfa you will have afterward. If you 
want to improve your afalfa, keep everything else out of the field 
and help the plants by regular irrigations during the balance of the 
growing season. 



Grains and Forage Crops lOS 

Beets and Potatoes. 

Which is the best for dairy cozvs, plain red mangels or a cross be- 
tween these and sugar beets? Can you suggest a more profitable variety 
of potato than the Oregon Burbank? 

If you can get a cross which gives you more tonnage than a 
mangel and a higher nutritive content you would have something 
better to grow. The first point you have to determine by growing 
the two side by side and weighing the product; the nutritive value 
of each will have to be determined by chemical analysis. Until 
these determinations are actually made a comparison of desirability 
is nothing but conjecture. There are several other potatoes which 
are sometimes more profitable here and there for early crop when 
grown in an early locality. If you are not in an early locality you 
are obliged to produce for the main crop, and nothing, to our knowl- 
edge, sells as well as the Burbank, if you get a good one. 

Beets for Stock. 

Will sugar beets groiv on black alkali land? How many pounds of 
seed per acre should be used and zvhen is it time for sowing in the San 
Joaquin valley? Which kind zvould be best for cows? 

Beets will do more on alkali than some other plants, but too 
much alkali will knock them out. You must try and see whether 
you have too much alkali or not. You can sow at various times 
during the rainy season, for the beets will stand some frost. Sow 
8 pounds per acre in drills 2^ to 3 feet apart, so as to use a horse 
cultivator. For stock you had better grow large stock beets like 
mangolds or tankards — not sugar beets. It costs too much to get 
sugar beets out of the ground, because it is their habit to grow small 
and bury themselves for the sake of the sugar maker, while stock 
beets grow largely above ground. 

Summer Start of Stock Beets. 

How can I make Mangel Wursels grow in hot weather? The land 
is level and can be irrigated by flooding or ditching between the rows. 
How often should the water be applied, and which method used? The 
land is in fine shape; a sandy loam bordering on to heavier land. 

Wet the land thoroughly; plow and harrow and drill in the 
seed in rows about 2^ feet apart. This ought to give moisture 
enough to start the seed. Cultivate as soon as you can see the rows 
well. Irrigate in a furrow between the rows about once a month; 
cultivate after each irrigation. 

Corn Growing for Silage. 

With fair cultivation, will an acre produce about lo tons of ensilage 
without fertiiization — it being bottom land? How should it be planted? — 
the rows closer together than 3 feet, or should it be planted the usual 
width between rows, and thick in the rows? If fertilisers were to be used. 



106 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

zvhat kind would you recommend? Would you recommend deep plowing 
followed by a packer mid harrozv so as to preserve the moisture f 

You ought to be able to get 10 tons of silage per acre from 
corn grown on good corn land. It can be best grown in rows 
sufficiently distant for cultivation, closer in the row than would be 
desirable for corn, and yet not too crowded, because corn for silage 
should develop good ears and should be cut for silage about the time 
when the glazing begins to appear. If your land needs fertilization, 
stable manure or a "complete fertilizer" of the dealers would be the 
proper thing to use. It would be very desirable to plow corn land 
deeply the preceding fall, followed by a packer or harrow to settle 
down the land below, but do not work down fine. Keep the surface 
stirred from time to time during the winter and put in the crop 
with the usual cultivation in the spring as soon as the frost danger 
is over. 

Irrigation for Corn. 

What amount of zvater is necessary per acre for the best possible 
yield of corn under acreage conditions and proper cultivation in the San 
Joaquin or Sacramento valleys? 

No one can answer such a question with anything more than a 
guess. It depends upon how much rain has fallen the previous 
winter, how retentive the soil is naturally, and what has been done 
to help the soil to hold it. Nearly all the corn that is grown is 
carried without any irrigation at all on moist lowlands, which may be 
too wet for winter crops. If you demand a guess, make it six acre- 
inches, with a good surface pulverizing after each run of water in 
furrows between the rows. This water would be best used in two 
or three applications. 

Eastern Seed Corn for California. 

The question has been raised as to Eastern-grown seed corn, comparing 
it with California-grown seed. Some claim that the former does not yield 
well the first season. 

We cannot give a complete refutation of the impression that 
Eastern seed corn docs not yield well the first season in California. 
It is a somewhat prevalent impression. All that we can announce 
now is that we have grown collections of Eastern seed corn and 
have found the product quite as good as could have been expected, 
and did not encounter, apparently, the trouble of which you write. 

Need of Corn Suckering. 

To insure the best crop of corn possible, docs it pay to sucker it or 
not? 

The removal of suckers is a matter of local conditions largely in 
California, and growers are getting out of the habit of suckering. In 
some places suckering is needed, and in others it apparently does not 
pay to do so, although with very rare exceptions a larger yield can 
be secured by suckering than without. 



Grains and Forage Crops 107 

Cow Peas Not Preparatory for Corn. 

What time of the year can cozu peas be planted, and can the entire 
crop be plowed under in time for planting field corn? 

Cowpeas are very subject to frost. They are really beans, and 
therefore can be grown in the winter time only in a few practically 
frostless places. Wherever frosts are likely to occur they must be 
planted, like beans and corn, when the frost danger is over. Field 
peas, Canadian peas and vetches are hardy against frost and there- 
fore safer for winter growth, and treated as you propose they may 
be preparatory for corn-growing providing you plow them under soon 
enough to get a month or more for decay before planting the corn. 

Oats and Rust. 

Is there any variety of oats that is rust-proof, or any method of treat- 
ing oats that will render them rust resistant? We are situated on a moun- 
tain, only about 12 miles from the coast, and have considerable foggy 
weather, which most of the farmers here say is the cause of the rust. 

There is no way of treating oats which will prevent smut, if the 
variety is liable to it. There is a great difiference in the resistance of 
different varieties. A few dark-colored oats are practically rust-proof, 
and you can get seed of them from the seedsmen in San Francisco 
and Los Angeles. Such varieties are chiefly grown on the southern 
coast. Foggy weather has much to do with the rust, because it 
causes atmospheric moisture which is favorable to the growth of the 
fungus, which is usually checked by dry heat, and yet there are at- 
mospheric conditions occasionally which favor the rust even in the 
driest parts of the State. The fog favors rust, but does not cause it. 
The cause is a fungus, long ago thoroughly understood and named 
puccinia graminis. 

Midsummer Hay Sowing. 

Can I sozv oats or barley in July upon irrigated mesa land, with the 
object of making hay in the fall? Which of the two would do the better 
in summer time? I have plenty of water. 

We have never seen this done to advantage. If you desire to try 
it, irrigate thoroughly and plow and sow afterward. Use barley rather 
than oats and irrigate when the plant shades the land well, if you get 
growth enough to warrant it. It will be easier to get the crop than 
to figure a profit in it. 

Loose Hay by Measure. 

How many cubic feet should be allowed for a ton of alfalfa hay loaded 
on a wagon from the shock? I must sell more or less in that way, as no 
scales are near enough to be used. 

It is a proposition, as to the weight of loose hay, which could of 
course keep changing the higher you built the load on the wagon. 
It is easier to give figures on weight from a stack in which there has 
been something like uniform pressure for a time. In the case from 



108 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

a 30-day stack it is common to allow an eight-foot cube to a ton, etc. 
Perhaps you can guess from that. 

When to Cut Oat Hay. 

To make the best red oat hay should it be cut when in the "milk," 
"dough" or nearly ripe? 

It should be cut in the "soft dough" or, as some express it, "be- 
tween the milk and the dough." This is probably as near an ap- 
proach in words as can be made to that condition which loses neither 
by immaturity or by over-maturity from the point of view of hay 
which is to get as much as can be in the head without losing nutritive- 
ness in the straw. Of course there are other conditions intruding 
sometimes, like the outbreak of rust or the premature ripening 
through drought. In such cases care must be taken not to let the 
plant stand too long for the sake of reaching an ideal condition in 
the head — which for lack of favorable growing conditions the plant 
may not be able to reach. 

Rye for Hay. 

When is the best time to cut rye for hay, and how should it best he 
handled? Would it be zvell to cut it up and blow it into the barn, and 
would it do all right for silage? 

Rye makes poor hay on account of its woody stems and must be 
cut earlier than other grains. After that it is handled as is other hay. 
Cutting it up would probably be more of a help than to other grain 
hay. It could be put into the silo, but would of course have to be cut 
pretty green and would have to run through a cutter and blower. Put- 
ting it in whole would be out of the question. In the silo, the fer- 
mentation would largely overcome the woodiness of the stems. It 
would also as a silage balance up nicely with alfalfa, and the best way 
to do would be to mix it with alfalfa when putting it in. 

Rye in California. 

Which kind of rye is the hardiest, the best yielding, and the best hay 
varieties in your State? 

Rye is the least grown of all the cereals in California, and no 
attention has been paid to selection of varieties. That which is pro- 
duced is "just rye," of some common variety which came to the State 
years ago and still remains. No rye is grown for hay, as the tough- 
ness of the stem renders it undesirable for that purpose. There is a 
certain amount of rye grown for winter feeding. This is grown in the 
foothills principally and it serves an excellent purpose, but it is fed off 
before approaching maturity. 

That Old Seven-Headed Wheat. 

We are sending you some heads of grain zvhich was grown in this 
county. The land was planted with an imported Australian wheat, which 



Grains and Forage Crops 109 

we believe the smaller heads to be, but the wheat is about evenly mixed 
with grain like the large heads, which we think to be a species of barley. 
The grain is an old, coarse, bearded wheat which is continually 
appearing in fields of ordinary grain and naturally excites interest 
among all to whom the variety is a novelty. It is the old seven- 
headed Egyptian wheat, which has never proved of any cultural value, 
because its manifolding of the head is of no advantage. It is better 
to have a straight well-filled head than to have a branching head of 
this kind. This matter has been fully demonstrated by experience 
during the last thirty or forty years, not only in this State, but in 
other States, for the variety has a way of getting around the world, 
and seed has sometimes been sold at exorbitant prices to people who 
have been persuaded that it is of particular value. 

Speltz. 

/ have heard of a Russian grain called "Speltz" or "Emmer." Can 
I raise it successfully and, if so, what is the very best time of year to sow 
same for the best crop obtainable? Can it be sotmi in the fall, say Novem- 
ber? Would springtime be a better time to sozu, it on soil that is very 
soft in winter? 

If your land yields good crops of wheat or barley or oats, you 
have little to expect from speltz or emmer. This is a grain generally 
considered inferior to those just mentioned and advocated for condi- 
tions under which the better known grains do not do well. It is hardy 
against drought and frost, particularly the latter, and is, therefore, 
chiefly grown in the extreme north of Europe. It may ht sown in 
the fall or in the spring in places where rains are late and carry the 
plant to maturity. 

Italian Rye Grass. 

What kind of grass is enclosed? Also the best method to eradicate it? 

The grass is the Italian rye grass, or as it is sometimes called, 
the Italian variety of the perennial rye grass. It is proving a very 
satisfactory grass in California for moderate drought resistance and 
for winter growing, and a great deal of it is being sown for these 
purposes. You can readily kill it out by cultivation, but most people 
are more occupied with its propagation than with its destruction. 

Fall Feed. 

Can I irrigate and plant a forage crop in July to feed dairy cows this 
fall and winter? Would you recommend cow peas or some kind of sugar 
corn? If cow peas, how many pounds to the acre? 

If you wet down the land thoroughly and then plow and harrow 
and plant either cow peas or Indian corn, you ought to get a good 
green crop before frost. Drill in or drop the seed in rows about 
three feet apart and keep cultivating and irrigating as long as you 
can get through without injuring the crop too much. Use about 40 
pounds of cow peas to the acre. 



110 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Hurry-up Pasture. 

What can I plant this fall which would produce pasturage for a small 
amount of stock this zuintcr, and until I can get the land under irrigation 
and seeded to alfalfa? 

For quick fall and winter growth nothing is better probably than 
oats and vetches sown together as soon as you get rain enough to 
plow, but it would be a question whether it is worth while to work for 
that, because you ought to get your land ready for February sowing 
of alfalfa and that will keep the land busy after the rain gets it into 
working condition. 

Johnson Grass. 

I am informed that Johnson grass )nakes fine hay. I have not sown 
the seed yet, but would like to know if the hay is good and if it will groiv 
on dry land. I have the seed on hand, hut do not zvatit to sow it if it is 
not good. 

Johnson grass is poor, coarse stufif. The plant is most valuable 
for grazing when young. Johnson grass will not grow on really dry 
land, but it will take the best moist land it can find and hold on to it. 
It is sensitive to frost and is not a winter grower except in the absence 
of frost. 

Improving Heavy Land for Alfalfa. 

My land is very heavy, red loam, and crusts over very hard in dry 
seasons. I zvould like to know if it zvould be best to use barnyard compost 
over the surface as a mulch, or zvould it be best to use plain strazv for 
that purpose f 

A very heavy soil can be "brought into better surface condition for 
alfalfa by plowing in stable manure as soon as possible after the fall 
rains, in order that the manure may have opportunity to become 
disintegrated and mixed with the soil by the time for alfalfa sowing, 
which is from February to April — whenever the heavy frosts of the 
locality are over. For a small piece, you might get a better stand by 
using a light mulch of disintegrated coarse manure or even straw, 
scattering it after the sowing, but for a large acreage this would involve 
too much labor. It is not desirable to work in much manure or other 
coarse stuff at the time of sowing the seed, but you can make a light 
surface application after the plant has made a start. 

Cultivating Alfalfa. 

When is the best time to cultivate alfalfa, and hozu often during the 
season is it advantageous to do so? Which is the best implement to use? 

Cultivated alfalfa is a term applied to alfalfa sown in rows and 
allowed to grow in narrow bands with cultivated land between, and 
the irrigation is then done in a furrow in the narrow cultivated strip. 
This will give thriftier growth and perhaps more hay to the acre than 
flooded, broad-casted alfalfa, but it will cost so much more that the acre- 
profit would probably be less. This is an intensive culture of alfalfa 



Grains and Forage Crops 111 

which is still to be tested out in California, if any one should be 
inclined to do it. Some one-cow suburbanite would be in condition to 
try the scheme first. Probably you refer to disking, and for that an 
ordinary disk is used with the disks set pretty straight to reduce the 
side cutting, and this is done at dififerent times of the year by different 
growers. By doing it when the ground gets dry in the early spring 
rnuch of the foul stuff is cut out before the alfalfa starts strongly. But 
disking seems to be good whenever in the year the soil is dry enough 
to take it well. 

Suburban Alfalfa Patch. 

How can we rid the alfalfa of weeds F As we are obliged to hire help, 
and do not succeed in getting the hay cared for until we have mostly 
stalks without leaves, I have put the cow on it to pasture it off. 

The cow knows how to handle it, but you will not get as much 
alfalfa as if you cut and carried it to her. If you cut sooner you will 
get rid of many plants which are propagated by the see.ds which they 
produce, and you will also get better hay, more leaves and fewer stalks. 
Cut it about the time it begins to bloom, not waiting for the full bloom 
to appear. 

Alfalfa and Bermuda. 

/ have land which luas seeded to alfalfa some 15 years ago and has 
been pastured continuously until it zvas almost all Bermuda. I had it 
thoroughly plowed, disk harrowed and sowed to oats; disk harrowed in, 
and drag harrowed. After cutting for hay this year I intend putting it in 
Egyptian corn in rows, so it can be cultivated to get rid of Bermuda. I 
have also been advised to plow the land immediately after harvesting corn 
and let it lie until next January and then plow and soiv to barley and 
alfalfa as I wish to grow alfalfa. Kindly let me know if method is right. 
The land is sandy loam and under irrigation. 

Whether you will fully succeed against Bermuda grass or not is doubt- 
ful. It is probable, however, that you can reduce the Bermuda so that 
other cultivated crops can be continuously grown. Common experience is 
that Bermuda will hold on unless you have hard freezing of the 
ground to a considerable depth, as they have in the northern States. 
The best use that you can make of land infested with Bermuda is to 
get as good a stand as you can of alfalfa and let the alfalfa fight for 
itself. The combination of alfalfa and Bermuda grass makes very 
good hay or pasturage. We should, however, sow the alfalfa alone 
and not handicap it by sowing with barley. The Bermuda will smile 
at that advice. Egyptian corn can be planted in rows, 2% to 3 feet 
between the rows to admit of easy cultivation 

Bermuda Grass. 

What is the value of Bermuda grass as a forage crop for cattle, 
more particularly dairy cows? 

Bermuda grass is generally condemned because of getting in 
places where it is not desirable and of being almost impossible of 



112 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

eradication therefrom. Still, Bermuda grass will make good pas- 
turage on land which is too alkaline to make other crops, and there- 
fore is higlily esteemed by some owners of waste lands in the San 
Joaquin valley. It is good pasturage and is most easily propagated 
by cutting the roots up into short pieces by use of the hay-cutter, 
nearly all the pieces retaining an eye which will make a new plant. 
It is easy to get in and hard to get out. 

Salt Grass and Alfalfa. 

/ have sovic land in Sutter county and it has some of this salt grass 
in spots. I am about to take a tzventy-acre piece and put in alfalfa, but 
some old-timers tell me that the salt grass on it is bad stutf to handle. 

Your trouble will probably be not so much the salt grass, but the 
alkali in the soil which the salt grass can tolerate and which other 
plants cannot stand. You cannot then substitute alfalfa for salt 
grass without getting the alkali out of the soil, and you cannot do 
this without having sufficient drainage so that the rainfall may wash 
the alkali out from the soil and carry it away in the drainage water. 
You probably cannot get a satisfactory growth of alfalfa on the spots 
where the salt grass has established itself, although the land round 
about may be very satisfactory to alfalfa. 

Giant Spurry. 

/ ivould like itiformation about spurry. Hoiv much frost ivill it 
standi What is time for solving/ Its value as crop to plozv underf 

From a California point of view, spurry is a winter-growing weed 
which has been approved by orchardists in Sonoma county because 
it yields a considerable amount of vegetation for turning under with 
the spring plowing of the orchard. For this purpose it should be 
sown at the beginning of the rainy season. Its value as a crop to 
turn under depends upon the amount of growth you can get. It 
is not a legume and, therefore, does not have the value of the nitro- 
gen-gathering plant. Still, it yields humus and, therefore, is valuable 
for winter growing as ordinary weeds, grasses, grains, etc., are. 

Light Soil and Scant Moisture. 

Advise me as to plozving under a crop of last year's xveeds where 
J intend to plant beans, corn, etc. The soil is "slickens," on the Yuba 
river, and the luceds grczv up last year in a crop of volunteer barley, 
xvhich was hogged off. I e.vpect to pkno five inches deep, and calculate 
that the barley strazv and xi'ceds will contribute to the supply of itumus, 
zvhich is akvays deficient in most of our soils. I e.vpect to try to grow 
beans zvithout irrigation, and zwuder if the trash zvould hold the soil 
too open so as to dry them out. 

Considering the character of the soil which you describe and 
the shallow plowing you intend we should certainly burn off all the 
trash upon the land. With deep plowing early in the season this 



Grains and Forage Crops 113 

coarse stuff could be covered in to advantage, but it would be 
dangerous to do it in the spring. Clean land and thorough cultiva- 
tion to save moisture enough for summer's growth is the only- 
rational spring treatment. 

Clovers and Drought. 

/ have sandy loam ivitli some alkali. In ivet years it is regarded 
as too damp in some places. Can you give me any information on the 
following points? I have practically no water for irrigation and I feel 
sure that alfalfa would not grovj without it. Do you think that clover 
would make one or more cuttings without zvater? 

Red and white clover are less tolerant of drought than alfalfa, 
which, being a deep-rooting plant, is especially commended in dry- 
farming undertakings. Red clover will grow better on low wet lands 
than will alfalfa, but the land must not dry out or the red clover 
will die during the dry season. None of the plants will stand much 
alkali. 

Clover for Wet Lands. 

What kind of alfalfa will do best on sub-irrigated land which is 
very wet? I have sown it in alfalfa and it grows Hnely for two or three 
years, but then the roots rot and die. 

It is impossible to make any kind of alfalfa grow well on very 
wet land, that is, where the water comes too near the surface. 
Alfalfa has a deep-running tap root which is very subject to standing 
water. You can get very good results from the Eastern red clover 
on such land, because the red clover has a fibrous root which is 
content to live in a shallow layer of soil above water. But red clover 
will not stand drought as well as alfalfa, because it is shallower 
rooting. It is necessary, therefore, that water should be perman- 
ently near the surface or surface irrigation be frequently applied, in 
order to secure satisfactory growth of red clover in the drier sections 
of California. It is also necessary that neither land nor water carry 
alkali. 

Frosted Grain for Hay. 

The freeze struck us pretty severely. I had 125 acres of summer- 
fallowed wheat which I had estimated to make 20 sacks to the acre of 
grain. It was breast high in places already, and was just heading out. 
The frost pinched the stalks of this grain in several places and the heads 
are now turning white. It is ruined for grain. There is lots of fodder 
in it, and it should be made into hay. If so, should it not be cut and 
cured at once? What is the relative worth of such hay as compared with 
more matured hay? Would the fact that it is frozen make it injurious 
to feed? 

If the whole plant seems to be getting white, the sooner it is 
cut the better. If the head is affected and the leaf growth continued, 
cutting might be deferred for the purpose of getting more of it. 
Hay made from such material will not be in any way dangerous, 



114 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

although it would be inferior as containing less nutritive and more 
non-nutritive matter. Such hay would seem to be most serviceable 
as roughage for cows or steers in connection with alfalfa hay or some 
other feed which would supply this deficiency. 

Forage Plants in the Foothills. 

IVe have 3,000 acres of foothill land and hope to be able to irrigate 
some land this spring and zuish to know the best forage crops, for sheep 
and hogs, especially. Kafir corn, stock peas, rape, sugar-beets and arti- 
chokes are the varieties about which we desire information. 

Where you have irrigation water available in the foothills you 
can get a very satisfactory growth of red clover. We have seen it 
doing very well on sloping land in your county where water was 
allowed to spill over from a ditch on the ridge to moisten the slope 
below. Winter rye and other hardy stock feeds could also be grown 
in the winter time on the protected slopes with the rainfall. Some 
such plants are not good summer growers, owing to the drought. 
Rape is a good winter grower by rainfall, but not so satisfactory as 
vetches and kale. Sugar beets are not so good for stock purposes as 
stock beets, which give you much more growth for the same labor 
and are more easily gathered because they grow a good part out of 
the ground. They will stand considerable freezing and may be 
sown at dififerent times throughout the year, whenever the land is 
moist, either by irrigation or rainfall. Artichokes are of doubtful 
value. We have never found anyone who continued to grow them 
long. Of course, on good, deep land, with irrigation, nothing can 
be better than alfalfa as supplementary to hill range during the 
summer season. 

Winter Forage. 

At ivhat time of the year should I plant kale, Szviss chard, etc., so 
as to have them ready for use during the months from February to June? 

You should plant Swiss chard, kale, etc., as soon as the ground 
is sufficiently moist from the rain in the fall. In fact, it would be 
desirable for you to plant the seed earlier in boxes and thus secure 
plants for planting out when the ground is sufficiently moist. These 
plants are quite hardy against frost, and in order to have them 
available by February, a start in the autumn is essential. 

A Summer Hay Crop. 

What can I put on the \and after the oat crop is taken off to furnish 
hay for horses during the coming winter? I had thought millet would 
be good. I have water for irrigation. 

You could get most out of the land you mention during the hot 
season bv growing Kafir corn or milo, cutting for hay before the 
plant gets too far advanced. If your land can be flooded and takes 
water well, so that you can wet it deeply before plowing, the sorghum 
seed can be broadcast and the crop cut with the mower while the 



Grains and Forage Crops 115 

stalks are not more than half an inch in diameter. This makes a 
good coarse hay. If you have not water enough or the land does 
not lie right for flooding, you can grow the sorghum in drills and 
irrigate by the furrow method, being careful, however, not to let 
the crop go too far if you desire to feed it as hay. 

Teosinte. 

What about "Teosinte," its food value, method of culture, and adapt- 
ability to our climate, character of soil required? 

Teosinte is a corn-like plant of much lower growth than Indian 
corn. It may be of value as a forage plant on low, moist, interior 
lands in the summer season. It is very sensitive to frost and is, 
therefore, not a winter grower. It abhors drought and, therefore, is 
not a plant for plains or hillsides. It was grown to some extent 
in California 25 years ago and abandoned as worthless so far as tried. 

Bermuda Objectionable. 

Bermuda grass as pasture for summer to supplement burr clover and 
alfilaria in winter on the cheap hill pasture lands along the coast or the 
foothill ranges of the Sierras. Stock like it and do zuell on it, and I 
have noticed it growing in places where it had no water but the little 
rains of zvinter in southern California. So' the question occurred to me, 
why should it not be a profitable pasture for the dry summers on the 
coast or foothill ranges of the State? 

Bermuda grass will not make summer growth enough on dry 
pasture land to make it worth having. It will not make much growth 
in the rainy season because of frost, and if it has possession of the 
ground it will not allow either burr clover or alfilaria to make such 
winter growth as they will on clean land. Besides, this grass is 
generally counted a nuisance, because it will get into all the good 
cultivated land and it is almost impossible of eradication. Bermuda 
grass is of some account on alkali land where it finds moisture 
enough for free growth. We would not plant it in any other situa- 
tion. 

Rye Grasses Better than Brome. 

/ see in an Eastern seed catalogue "Bromus Inermis" very highly 
spoken of as pasturage. Do you knozv anything of it, and do you think 
it zvould be suitable for reclaimed tule land in the bay section? 

Both English and Italian rye grasses have proved better than 
Bromus Inermis on such land as you mention. The latter is com- 
monly known as Hungarian brome grass or awnless brome grass 
and it was introduced to this State from Europe about 25 years ago 
and the seed distributed by the University Experiment Station. Hun- 
garian brome may be better on rather dry lands, although it will 
not live through the summer on very dry lands in this State, but 
we would rather trust the rye grasses on reclaimed lands, providing, 
of course, that they are sufficiently free from salt to carry tame grass 



116 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

at all. On the upper coast Hungarian brome has been favorably 
reported as an early-winter growing grass with comparatively low 
nutritive value, but is especially valuable because it will grow in poor 
soil. It is especially suited to sandy pasture and meadow lands and is 
quite resistant to drought. It is a perennial grass, reproducing by a 
stout rootstock, which makes it somewhat difficult to eradicate when it 
is not desired. It is desirable to keep stock off the fields during the 
first year to get a good stand. 

Black Medic. 

Will you kindly name the enclosed; also explain its value as forage? 

The plant is black medic. It has been very widely distributed 
over the State during the last few years. It is sometimes called a 
new burr clover, which it somewhat resembles. It is not very freely 
eaten by stock and is apparently inferior to burr clover for forage 
purposes. It is a good plant to plow under for green manure. 

Crimson Clover. 

About crimson clover in California. Has it proved satisfactory? If 
so, can you give me data how to plant, etc.? 

Crimson clover must be sown after frost, for it is tender. It 
will give a great show in June and July on low moist land. It is 
not good against either frost or drought. It has been amply tried in 
California and proved on the whole of little account. 

California Winter Pastures. 

We have a great deal of pasture land on which the native grasses 
yield less feed each year. A great part of this land can be cleared of 
brush and stone, ready for the plow, but what can zve sozv to take the 
place of the native pasture? The ground in many places is not level 
enotigh for alfalfa and in some places zvater is not available. Can zve 
break up the land and sozv pasture grasses as the farmers are exhorted 
to do at the East? The annual rainfall is from 12 to 15 inches. 

The perennial grasses which they rely upon for pasturage in 
the East and which will maintain themselves from year to year, will 
not live at all on the dry lands of California, nor has investigation 
of the last twenty-five or thirty years found anything better for 
these California uplands than the winter growth of plants which 
are native to them. Such lands should be better treated, first by not 
being overstocked; second, by taking off cattle at the time the native 
plant needs to make seed, because, as they are not perennial, they 
are dependent upon each year's seed. After the plants have seeded, 
the land can be pastured for dry feed without losing the seed. 

Of course, if one has land capable of irrigation he can grow 
forage plants, even the grasses which grow in moist climates, like 
the rye grasses, the brome grasses and the oat grasses, etc., which 
will do well if given a little moisture, but it will be a loss of money 



Grains and Forage Crops 117 

to break up the dryer lands with the idea of establishing perennial 
grasses upon them without irrigation. California pastures are natur- 
ally good. In early days they were wonderful, but they are re- 
stricted to growth during the rainy season, or for a little time after 
that, and are therefore suited for winter and spring pasturage, while 
the summer feeding of stock, aside from dry feed, should be pro- 
vided from other lands where water can be used. The improvement 
of these wild pastures consists in a more intelligent policy for their 
production and preservation rather than an effort to improve them 
by the introduction of new plants. Pastures may, however, be often 
improved by clearing off the brush and harrowing in seed of burr 
clover, alfilaria, etc., at the beginning of the rainy season. 

Alfilaria and Winter Pasturage. 

Will alfilaria {Erodium cicutarium) grow well on the hills of Sonoma 
county partially covered with shrubs? I want something that will he 
food for stock another year. I have heard of alfilaria and that it grows 
well without being irrigated. 

Alfilaria is a good winter-growing forage plant in places where 
it accepts the situation. It is an annual and therefore does not make 
permanent pasturage except where it may re-seed itself. On the 
coming of the dry season it will speedily form seed and disappear. 
It is therefore of no summer use under the conditions which you 
describe, nor is it possible to secure any perennial grass which will 
be satisfactory on dry hillsides without irrigation. Improved winter 
pasturage can be secured by scattering seed of common rye at the 
beginning of the rainy season, or of burr clover, both of which are 
winter-growing plants. Pasturage is also capable of improvement 
by being careful not to overstock the land, so that the native annuals 
may be able to produce seed and provide for their own succession. 
The secret of successful pasturage on dry uplands is to improve the 
winter growth. It is too much to expect much of them for summer 
growth without irrigation. 

Grasses for Bank-Holding. 

We desire a grass to be used on levees, to keep from zvashing. Ber- 
muda or Johnson grass are dangerous to farming lands. What ive desire 
is a grass that ivill grow in good dirt with no water to support it during 
most of the year, except the annual rainfall of Fresno county. Of course, 
this grass will also have to endure a great deal of water during the flooded 
season of the year. We have heard that the Italian rye grass zvould be 
suitable. 

The rye grasses do not have running roots; therefore are not 
calculated to bind soil particles together as Bermuda grass does, 
n you want a binding grass, you must take the chances of its spread- 
ing to adjacent lands. Of course, if you could get a sod of rye grass 
it would prevent surface washing from overflow, etc., to a certain 



118 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

extent. We are not sure how far it would prevent bank cutting by 
the flowing water, for it makes a bunchy and not a sod-like growth. 
It would not live through the summer unless the levee soil keeps 
somewhat moist. The only way to determine whether you can get 
a permanent growth of it, will be by making a trial. Seed should 
be sown as soon as the ground becomes moistened by rain. It is a 
very safe proposition, because if it is wilHng to live through the 
summer, it is one of the best pasturage grasses for places in Cali- 
fornia where it will consent to grow, and it is not liable to become 
an annoyance by taking possession of adjacent land, because it would 
be readily killed by cultivation. 

Alfalfa and Alkali. 

/ sowed several acres of alfalfa seed with a disc this season and none 
of it has come up. I think the reason for it not coming up is that the 
disc put it into the ground too deep. We soivcd some by hand and it 
came up very zvcll. Is there any probability that later in the season this 
seed will germinate, or has it rotted in the ground? Water stands within 
three feet of the surface and has considerable alkali. What can I plant 
on this land and get a crop? It is our intention to sow it to alfalfa next 
fall. The land adjoining, although higher, has a good stand of alfalfa now. 

You are right about covering the alfalfa seed too deeply. It is 
not likely to appear. Your chance of getting a durable stand of al- 
falfa on such shallow soil over alkali water is not good, but you can 
hardly determine that without trying. Sometimes conditions are 
better than you think; sometimes worse. The plant itself is the 
best judge. On your lower land you could probably get a better 
stand of rye grass than anything else — sowing at the beginning of 
the rainy season. Of course, however, even that will depend upon 
how much alkali you have to deal with. 

Alfalfa on Adobe. 

Is adobe land good for alfalfa? Is it harder to start than in other 
soils or not? Hozv much seed is required to sow an acre? Also state 
what time alfalfa should be sowed. 

Alfalfa will thrive on an adobe soil if the moisture is kept right — 
especially guarding against too much water at a time. It is neces- 
sary to irrigate more frequently and apply only as much as can be 
absorbed by the soil before the hot sun comes on the field, for that 
scalds the plant badly. It is harder to get a good stand because of 
the cracking and hardening of the surface. Sow about 20 pounds 
to the acre just as soon as the soil comes into good condition — that 
is, moist and warm. February and March are usually the best 
months, according to the season in the interior valleys. 

Alfalfa and Soil Depth. 

Do you consider soil which is from 4 to 6 feet deep to hardpan of 
sufficient depth for alfalfa? Is there hardpan in the region of Lathrop 



Grains and Forage Crops 119 

in San Joaquin county, and can it be dissolved by irrigation, or can any 
good be accomplished by blozving holes at different places to allow the 
zvater to pass to lower levels? Are other crops affected by hardpan being 
so close to the surface? 

You can grow alfalfa successfully on land which is from four 
to six feet deep if you irrigate rather more frequently and use less 
amounts of water each time, so that the plant shall be adequately 
supplied and yet not forced to carry its roots in standing water. 
The Eastern alfalfa grower is fortunate when he gets half the depth 
you mention, although it does seem rather shallow in California. 
Shallow lands are distributed over the valley quite widely. A deep- 
ening of the available soil is usually accomplished by dynamiting, 
especially so if the hardpan is underlaid by permanent strata. Al- 
falfa will penetrate some kinds and thicknesses of hardpan when it 
is kept moist, but not too wet, to encourage root growth. 

Winter-growing green crops are less affected by shallow soil 
because they generally make their growth while the moisture is 
ample, if the season is good. 

Curing Alfalfa with Artificial Heat. 

It is current rumor that "out in California they are hauling alfalfa 
green and curing it by artificial heat," thus reducing loss through bad 
zveather and producing a superior hay for feeding or milling purposes. 

It is true that alfalfa is being cut green and dried by artificial 
heat, but this is only being done in preparation for grinding. No 
one thinks of doing it for the making of hay for storage or for feed- 
ing. This method is undertaken, not because the alfalfa hay does 
not dry quickly enough in the field, but because after drying in the 
field so many leaves are lost in hauling to the mill. We have no 
trouble sun-drying alfalfa for ordinary hay purposes; in fact, we 
have to be very careful that it does not get too dry. 

Cheap Preparation of Land for Alfalfa. 

I am about to put a piece of land into alfalfa, and ivant to use the 
most economical system of preparing the land for irrigation. My neigh- 
bors tell me that it zvill be necessary for me to have the land leveled; 
at a cost of $6 to $10 per acre. Now I am informed that in Alberta, 
and some places in California, they do not go to the expense of leveling 
land, but use a system of preparing land for irrigation at a cost of about 
60 cents per acre. 

Nothing except a highly educated gale of wind, with discrimin- 
ating cutting and filling ability of a very high order, could do it for 
that price. The cheapest way to prepare land for irrigation is the 
contour check method, which is largely used, or the flooding in strips 
between levees at right angles to the supply ditch; but neither of 
these could be put in properly for that money, even if the land was 
naturally in such shape that a minimum amount of soil-shifting is 
necessary. 



120 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Where Alfalfa is Grown. 

In what counties is alfalfa most successfully grown f By this I mean 
where three crofts of hay may he had each groiving season. Also, will 
corn grozv good paying crops in same sections? 

Alfalfa is grown all through the valleys and foothills of interior 
California; also to a certain extent in coast valleys. On suitable 
lands, three crops can sometimes be secured without irrigation, while 
twice or three times as many cuttings are secured on irrigated lands 
where the frost-free season is particularly long. According to the 
last census, we are growing alfalfa on 19,104 farms with a total 
acreage of 484,098. The total value of the product is over $13,000,000. 
Corn is widely grown, but is small as compared with alfalfa. It is 
grown in alfalfa districts and in coast valleys where there is not 
much done with alfalfa. 

Sowing Alfalfa. 

What is the proper time to soiv alfalfa? Some advocate fall and 
others spring sowing. What seasons are given for each solving? 

We shall undoubtedly soon get to sowing alfalfa all the year 
round except in the short season of sharp frosts and cold wet ground 
in November, December and January. If you can get a good start in 
September and October, all right; if not, wait until February and 
March, according to the season. Where it is never very cold or wet, 
sow whenever moisture is right. There never can be any rule about 
it, for localities will dififer. 

Foxtail and Alfalfa. 

Will foxtail choke out and exterminate alfalfa? Some fields look as 
though the foxtail had crowded the alfalfa out, but I hold that the alfalfa 
died from some other cause and the jfoxtail merely took its place. 

Foxtail will not choke out alfalfa, providing soil and moisture 
conditions are right for the latter, and a good stand of plant has 
been secured. If anything is wrong with the alfalfa, the foxtail will 
be on the alert to take advantage of it. You will always have fox- 
tail with you, and considerable quantities of it, perhaps, in the first 
cutting, because foxtail will grow at a lower temperature than al- 
falfa, and, therefore, will keep very busy during the rainy season, 
while the alfalfa is more or less dormant, but as the heat increases, 
if the soil is good and moisture ample, the alfalfa will put the fox- 
tail out of sight until the following winter invites it to make an- 
other aggressive growth. Therefore, we answer that alfalfa does 
not die from foxtail, but from some condition unfavorable to the 
alfalfa, which must be sought in the soil, or in the moisture supply, 
or traced back to bad seed, and a poor stand at the beginning. 

Which Alfalfa is Best? 

/ have in Stanislaus county ten acres of Arabian alfalfa, which was 
sown the first week in April this year. It was clipped in luly and irri- 



Grains and Forage Crops 121 

gated. It is now about 14 inches high, but looks sickly, turns white at 
the tips, and some dies doivn. There are several places here with the 
Arabian alfalfa on them and zvith the same trouble, zuhile the ordinary 
variety is looking fine by the side of it. 

Arabian alfalfa usually makes a good show at first and begins 
to run out afterward. It does not seem to be so long-lived and sat- 
isfactory as the common variety. With this prospect ahead of you, 
according to present experience, it would seem to be desirable to 
plow the crop in and seed again with the common variety, or with 
the Turkestan, which is proving the most satisfactory of the recently 
introduced varieties. 

Fall Sowing of Alfalfa. 

We have summer-fallozued land which we knozv zvill grow good al- 
falfa, and as we have just had four inches of rainfall upon it, we zuere 
wondering if we could not plow the twenty acres and get a stand upon 
it in time to stand the cold zveather this winter. Do you think this is 
practicable f 

If four inches of rain on summer fallow connects well with the 
lower moisture which a good summer fallow ought to conserve in 
the soil, such sowing is rational; but if the summer fallowing was 
not done well, that is, if it was rough plowing without enough har- 
rowing, as is too often the case, the four inches of rain might not 
be safe because of the dry ground beneath waiting to seize the 
moisture and so dry the surface that sprouting alfalfa plants would 
perish between dry soil below and dry wind above. Fall sowing 
will give enough growth to resist frost killing in many places in the 
valley if the moisture in the soil is enough to carry the plant as well 
as start it, or if showers come frequently — otherwise it is dangerous, 
not from frost but from drouth. 

Alfalfa Hay and Soil Fertility. 

We are feeding all our hay to dairy cows, returning the manure to 
the soil. At present prices of hay, my neighbors zvho sell theirs, seem 
to be as well off, zvith considerable less zvork; but how about the future F 
Can this soil be cropped indefinitely and the crops sold, without returning 
anything to the land? 

It is a mistake to think that you can sell alfalfa hay indefinitely 
without reducing the soil. It may gain in nitrogen by the wastes 
of the plant, but it will lose in other constituents unless reinforced 
by fertilization. No single act can make for the maintenance of the 
soil as the growing and feedmg of crops and return of manure does. 

Dry-Land Alfalfa. 

/ am in a country of strictly dry farming. I have a wash or gulch 
on my place and would like to know if I could, with success, plant it to 
alfalfa without irrigation; soil is sandy loam, no evidences of springy 
moisture at all. What kind should I try? 



122 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Alfalfa will endure much drouth. What it will do in a particular 
place can only be told by trying. Sow Turkestan alfalfa. If the 
rains come early so as to wet the land down in September and Oc- 
tober, sow the seed then. The endurance of the plant will depend 
much upon its having a chance to root deeply before the drouth 
comes on. 

Inoculating Alfalfa. 

Is it profitable to inoculate alfalfa seed before planting to increase 
its yield? Can it be done by leaching soil from old alfalfa ground, pro- 
viding it has been plowed up and allozved to stand for a year? Are 
commercial inoculants a safe thing to inoculate with? 

Apparently alfalfa does not need inoculation in this State. Prob- 
ably not one acre in ten thousand now profitably growing alfalfa 
has ever had artificial introduction of germs. You can make germ- 
tea, if you wish, of the soil you describe; one year's exposure would 
not destroy the germs. It is safe enough to use commercial cul- 
tures. You will have to decide for yourself whether it is worth while. 

Irrigating Alfalfa. 

/ am making parallel ridges for alfalfa, sending a full head of water 
down to the end of the Held between each ridge. Should I calculate the 
lands to be mowed one at a time in even sivaths? The mower being 5-foot 
cut, luould you count on cutting a 4 1-2 or 5-foot swath? This soil is 
sandy, zvatcr percolating rapidly. The fall is 8 feet to the mile. How 
zvide, then, would you advise making the ridges to suit the mower, and 
to flood economically, using from 2 to 4 cubic feet per second? The 
length of the lands is across 40 acres. 

Growing alfalfa in long parallel checks, to be flooded between 
the levees, is the way in which much alfalfa is being put in at the 
present time where the land has such a slope as you indicate. It is 
calculated, however, to seed the levees as well as the check bottoms, 
and to run the mowers across the levees, thus leaving no waste land 
and mowing across the whole field and not between the levees as 
you propose. For that purpose these levees are made low, not over 
a foot in height, calculating that they will settle to about six or 
eight inches, which is sufficient to hold the water and direct its flow 
gently down the slope. There is, however, a limit to the distance 
over which water can be evenly distributed in this way, the differ- 
ence being dependent upon the character of the soil, slope, etc. A 
length of nine hundred feet is sometimes found too great for an even 
distribution, and, for this reason, supply ditches at shorter intervals 
are introduced. 

Unirrigated Alfalfa. 

In what part of the State does alfalfa grotv best zvithout irrigation? 

Obviously the parts which have the greatest rainfall in connec- 
tion with retentive soil and plenty of summer heat. Alfalfa grows 
best without irrigation on "sub-irrigated" land where the ground- 



Grains and Forage Crops 123 

water is sufficiently deep to allow a deep rooting of the plant in 
free soil and yet not too far down to be readily reached by the deep- 
running roots. Good results can be. obtained with anywhere from 
four to ten or twelve feet of soil above water. On shallower soils 
the plant is apt to be short-lived through root troubles. Unirrigated 
alfalfa is also reduced by the incursions of gophers which flooding 
at least once a year will destroy. 

Alfalfa and Overflow. 

How long can alfalfa stand water without being drowned out? I 
have a piece of alfalfa on which the water will stand for considerable 
time in the winter time. 

Alfalfa while dormant will endure submergence for several 
weeks. We do not know exactly how long, but evidently for a con- 
siderable period, providing temperatures are too low to invite growth. 
On the other hand, growing alfalfa is quickly and seriously injured 
by overflow. 

No Nurse-Crop for Alfalfa. 

Is it advisable to use oats with alfalfa seeds in seeding for alfalfa? 
Some growers of alfalfa here advise it strongly, others advise against it. 

The general experience in California is decidedly against using 
oats, barley, or any other nurse-crop with alfalfa. Get the land in 
the best possible condition and let the alfalfa have the full benefit 
of it. The ripening of the grain crop will do the young alfalfa plants 
more harm by robbing them of moisture than any protection which 
the taller plant can aflford. 

Reseeding Alfalfa. 

This spring I planted alfalfa and only got about half a stand on some 
of the land. I tvant to resecd this fall and I thought of putting more 
seed on the ground and then disc it in. Or would you advise replanting 
the land? What do you think of putting manure on young alfalfa? Do 
you think there is any danger of burning it out? 

Stir it up with a spring tooth harrow or disc it lightly to make 
a nice seed bed and then sow your seed as if you were planting 
alfalfa for the first time. This will give you a good seed bed and 
will not hurt the alfalfa already growing. Prepare the surface first 
and then sow, rather than disking in the seed. The manure in mod- 
erate application would not burn out the young alfalfa if properly 
applied after the rains begin. 

Taking the Bloat Out of Alfalfa. 

Will Italian rye grass and red top clover be a success under irrigation 
as cow pasture in this county, either separately or mixed with alfalfa^ 
To sozv in bare spots in the alfalfa, zvould the rye grass prevent bloat? 

Italian rye grass and red clover will make good pasturage under 
irrigation and will make a fight with the alfalfa to the best of their 



124 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

ability. The admixture of rye grass will reduce the danger from 
bloating. Red clover will not have that effect, because red clover 
is a pretty good bloater on its own account. This seems to be the 
function of all the clovers according to the rankness of their growth 
at the time that they are grazed. 

The Time to Cut Alfalfa. 

IVIiat is the best period to cut alfalfa hay for cozv feed end the best 
method for curing f 

The best time to cut alfalfa is just when new shoots are starting 
out at the crown. This will give the greatest yield of hay during a 
season, and the hay will be much more palatable than if the alfalfa 
is permitted to get well into the blossoming period. The leaves, 
which are the best part of the hay, also remain on better than if the 
stems are older. If a person does not care to take the trouble to 
find out whether the new shoots are coming out or not, he can ap- 
proximate the time to cut fairly well by waiting until a blossom 
here and there appears, cutting immediately. It would be difficult 
to tell on paper exactly when alfalfa was properly cured, as that is 
a matter of individual judgment. It is usual to cut in the morning 
and rake into windrows in the afternoon. With the usual weather 
in interior California that stage of the curing is completed by that 
time. The next day it can be gathered into cocks and gotten ready 
to move. That is about all the curing that is done. The size of 
the windrows depends upon the amount of hay, as thick hay should 
be put up in small windrows to give plenty of circulation of air. It 
is considered better also to build the cocks on raked land, otherwise 
the hay lying flat at the bottom will not cure properly and cannot 
be gathered up clean. 

Which Crop of Alfalfa for Seed? 

Which cutting of alfalfa should be left for seed bearing f 

Which cutting is best for seed depends, of course, on the way 
the plant grows in your locality. Where it starts early and gives 
many cuttings in a season with irrigation a later growth should be 
chosen for seed than with a short season where fewer cuttings can 
be had. The second cutting is best in many places, but O. E. Lam- 
bert of Modesto after threshing about 30 lots in one year tells us 
that some growers had left second, some third and some fourth 
cuttings for seed. He found the second cutting very poor both in 
yield and grade, much of it not being well filled and the seed blighted, 
as the growth of hay was too heavy. The seed on third cutting 
was good both in grade and yield. Much of the seed on fourth cut- 
ting was not matured. For good results the stand should be thin. 
Our drier, heavier lands give the best results, sub-irrigated lands not 
seeding. All irrigation should stop with the previous cutting for 
hay. 



Grains and Forage Crops 125 

Siloing First Crop Alfalfa. 

How about putting first cutting of alfalfa and foxtail into the silo? 
Do you think there is any danger of lire in a wooden silo, and do you 
add salt and water zvhen £lling, and how long after it is cut ivould you 
advise putting it into the silo? 

Put it through the silo cutter as soon as you can get it from 
the field. Do not let it cure at all, and be sure to cut and pack well. 
If at all dry, use water at the time of filling, and some salt then 
also, if you desire. There is no danger of firing if you put it in- 
with good moisture, and by short cutting and hard packing you 
exclude the air. If you do not do this you will get a silo full of 
manure, and possibly have a fire while it is rotting. 

Soil for Alfalfa. 

What kind of soil is best for alfalfa on a dairy ranch f 

An ideal soil for alfalfa is a deep well drained soil into which 
the roots can run deeply without danger of encountering standing 
water or alkali. Still we are finding that alfalfa is very successful 
on soils which are not strictly ideal, providing the moisture is sup- 
plied in such a way that the soil shall not be waterlogged nor the 
water be allowed to remain upon the surface during the hot weather, 
because this kills the plant. 

Handling Young Alfalfa. 

/ have alfalfa that is doing very well for the first year. My soil is 
sandy loam zvith light traces of ivhite alkali, although it does not seem 
to be detrimental to the growth thus far. I am in the dairy business and 
will have by winter enough manure to top-dress the Held. Would it be 
good policy to use the manure, or would it be more satisfactory to top- 
dress with gypsum? Would it injure alfalfa to pasture lightly after the 
last cutting? 

Presumably your soil contains enough lime, and therefore the 
application of gypsum at this time of the year would not be neces- 
sary. It may be desirable to top-dress with gypsum near the end 
of the rainy season to stimulate the growth of the plant. Gypsum, 
however, has no efifect upon white alkali. So far as alkali goes, 
gypsum merely changes black alkali into white, thus making it less 
corrosive. 

There would be no objection to pasturing lightly this fall. Be 
careful, however, to keep ofif the stock while the land is wet and 
not to overstock so as to injure root crowns by tramping. The 
manure can be used as a top dressing during the rainy season, un- 
less you think it better to save it for the growth of other crops. 
Alfalfa is so deep rooting where conditions are favorable that it does 
not require fertilization usually on land which has been used for a 
long time for grain or other shallow-rooting plants. 



126 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Alfalfa Sowing with Gypsum. 

/ intend sowing alfalfa this fall on land that has some very compact 
hard spots. I aim to doctor these spots with gypsum at the rate of about 
1000 pounds per acre and cultivate the gypsum in thoroughly tiuo or three 
weeks before sowing the alfalfa seed. Would tliis be all right F Is there 
danger of injury to seed by coming in contact zvith gypsum? 

Gypsum will not hurt the alfalfa seed. It is not corrosive like 
an alkali. Whether it will have time enough to ameliorate the soil 
in the spots in the period you mention depends upon there being 
moisture enough present at the time. 

Red Clover for Shallow Land. 

What can you say of red clover on shallow soils in the Sacramento 
valley under irrigation f How many crops, etc.? 

Red clover is fine under the conditions you describe. We could 
never understand why people do not grow more of it on shallow 
land over hardpan which is free from alkali and not irrigated too 
much at a time. It is good on shallow land over water, where alfalfa 
roots decay, etc. Though we have no exact figures, we should ex- 
pect to get about two-thirds as much weight from it as from an 
equally good stand of alfalfa. 

Clovers for High Ground- Water. 

Where, in California, is alfalfa being raised successfully above a 
water-table of, say, 4 feet or less, and arc any unusual means used to 
accomplish this? 

Over a high water-table, the alfalfa plant will be shorter lived 
according to the shallowness of soil above water. One could get 
very good results at from 4 to 6 feet, whereas at 2 or 3 feet the 
stand of alfalfa would soon become scant through decay of its fleshy 
root. Where the water comes very near the surface, a more shallow 
and fibrous rooting plant, like the Eastern red clover, should be sub- 
stituted for alfalfa in California. It is a very vigorous grower and 
will yield a number of crops in succession although the water might 
be very near the surface, as in the case of the reclaimed islands in 
the Stockton and Sacramento regions and in shallow irrigated soils 
over bedrock in the foothills or over hardpan on the valley plains. 
In this statement, freedom from alkali is presumed. 

Vetches in San Joaquin. 

In Michigan I was familiar with the use of the sand vetch as a forage 
plant, for hay, for green manure, and as a nitrogen producer. In zvestern 
Michigan, on the loose sandy soil, I sowed in September or October 20 
pounds per acre for a seed crop and 40 pounds per acre for pasture, hay, 
or green manure. Can I expect good results in Fresno and Tulare coun- 



Grains and Forage Crops 127 

ties without irrigation? Will fall seeding the same as wheat produce a 
seed crop? Will sand vetch grozv on soil having one-half of one per cent 
alkali? 

Most of the vetches grow well in the California valleys during 
the rainy season; the common vetch, Vicia sativa, and the hairy 
vetch, Vicia hirsuta, are giving best results. The proper time to 
plant is at the beginning of the rainy season. They will stand some 
alkali, especially during the rainy season, when it is likely to be 
distributed by the downward movement of water, but it is very easy 
to find land which has too much alkali for them. These plants seed 
well in some parts of the valley, but a local trial must be made to 
give you definite information. 

Growing Vetch for Hay. 

How many pounds of vetch seed should he soimi to the acre? Hozv 
many tons per acre in the crop? As I desire to change my crop, having 
to some extent exhausted the soil with oats, how advisable will it be 
to sozv zvheat with the vetch to give it something to climb on? If so, 
and wheat is not desirable under the circumstances, what? In using 
vetch for horse fodder, how much barley should be fed zvith it per day 
for a driving horse? For a draught horse? Is vetch soivn and har- 
vested at about the same time as other crops? 

Except in very frosty places, vetch can be sown after the rain 
begins at about 40 to 60 pounds of seed to the acre. The yield will 
depend upon the land and on the moisture supply, ^and cannot be 
prophesied. One grower reports three tons of hay per acre near 
Napa. If the land usually yields a good hay crop, it should yield 
a greater weight of vetch. In mowing for hay purposes it is desirable 
to raise the vetch ofif the ground to facilitate the action of the mower. 
Oats would be better than wheat, because rather quicker in winter 
growth. If the vetch is to be fed green, rye is a good grain, but 
not good for hay purposes because of the hardness of the stem. There 
is no particular difference in the plant-food requirements of the dif- 
ferent grains, so that there is nothing gained in that way in the choice 
of wheat. In feeding a combined vetch and barley hay, the ration is 
balanced; the feeding of grain would not be necessary, except in case 
of hard work under the same conditions grain is usually fed to horses 
and in about the same amounts. Vetch requires a longer season 
than ordinary oat or barley hay crop to make a larger growth, con- 
sequently an early sowing is desirable. 

Cover Crop in Hop Yard. 

Will you please give information concerning cow peas or the most 
suitable crop to sozv in a hop field for winter grozvth, to be plowed under 
as a fertiliser in the spring? Also, zvould it injure the vines to be cut 
dozvn before they die, so as to sozv the mulch crop soon as possible after 
the hops are gathered? 

Cow peas would not do for the use which you propose, because 
they would be speedily killed by frost on low lands, usually chosen 



128 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

for hops, and would give you no growth during the frosty season. 
Probably there is nothing better than burr clover for such a winter 
growth. Hop vines should be allowed to grow as long as they main- 
tain the thrifty green color, because the growth of the leaves 
strengthens the root. But when they begin to become weakened 
and yellow they can be removed without injury. It is not necessary 
to wait for them to become fully dead. 

Growing Cowpeas. 

What is the best variety of cow peas for a forage crop? I xvant a 
variety zuhich with irrigation will come up after it has been cut, so as 
to keep grozving and not be like some ivhich I tried last year. They grew 
up like ordinary garden peas and tvere just a waste of ground. 

Possibly you did not get cowpeas ; they do not look like garden 
peas at all: they look more like running beans, which they are. The 
crop is not counted satisfactory except on low, moist land, for on 
uplands, even with irrigation, it does not seem to behave right. 
We do not know that a second growth can be expected, for in the 
Southern States it is grown as a single crop, and resowing is done 
if a succession is desired, the point being made at the South that the 
plant is adapted to this method of culture because it grows so rapidly 
that it can be twice sown and harvested during the frost-free period. 

Cowpeas in the San Joaquin. 

How late in the season will it be profitable to plant cowpeas? What 
is the best manner of planting? Are there several varieties? If so, 
which one is best adapted to plant after oats? The land can be irrigated 
until about August lo. Will it be advisable to plozv up a poor stand 
of alfalfa about July / and plant to cow peas? 

You can plant cowpeas all summer on land which is moist enough 
by natural moisture or irrigation to promote growth. What you will 
get by late planting depends upon moisture and absence of an early 
fall frost. If your alfalfa stand is bad enough to need re-sowing anyway, 
you may get a good catch crop of cowpeas by doing as you propose. 
If, however, you plow under much coarse stuff in putting in the peas 
the growth may be irregular. It can, of course, be improved by 
free irrigation. On clear land moderately retentive much more is 
being done in summer growth of cowpeas without irrigation than 
expected. There are several good varieties. One of these is the 
Whippoorwill. Cowpeas can be sown in furrows three feet apart and 
cultivated, using about 40 pounds of seed to the acre, or they may 
be broadcasted, which takes about twice as much seed. 

Cowpeas and Canadian Peas. 

Would Canadian field peas and cozv peas be valuable as a forage 
crop for cows and hogs; also as fertilizer? Please tell us also when to 
plant, how to plant, etc. 



Grains and Forage Crops 129 

These plants are of high forage value as cow feed; also as a soil 
restorative when the whole crop is plowed under green or when the 
roots and manure from feeding add to the soil. But for either 
purpose the result depends upon how much growth you can get, and 
that should be told by local trial before any great outlay is under- 
taken. Canadian peas are hardy against frost and can be broad- 
casted and covered with shallow plowing as soon as the land is 
moist enough from fall rains — except in very frosty parts of the 
State. They can also be sown in drills to advantage. Cow peas 
are beans, and cannot be planted until frost danger is over in the 
spring. They are only available for summer feeding, and whether 
they will be worth while or not depends upon how much moisture 
can be held in the soil for summer growth. They should be sown 
in drills and cultivation continued for moisture conservation until the 
plants cover the ground too much to get the cultivator through. 

Canadian or Niles Peas. 

/ send a sample of peas which I bought for Canada field peas, and 
they were so labeled. I would like to know what they are. 

The peas are, apparently, one kind of Canada peas. There is 
some variation in Canada peas, but these are peas of that class. Some 
of the Canada pea are hardly distinguishable from the so-called Niles 
pea of California growth, and it does not matter much, anyway, for 
one is about as good as the other. 

Sunflowers and Soy Beans. 

/ would like information concerning cultivation, method of feeding 
and food value of soy beans. Also sunflowers. 

Soy beans are grown like other beans, in rows which, for con- 
venience in field culture, should be about 2J/2 feet apart and cul- 
tivated up to blooming time at least. They should be sown after 
frost danger is over and the weather is settled warm, for they enjoy 
heat. For feeding they can be made into hay before maturity, or 
the beans can be matured and prepared for feeding by grinding. As 
with other beans, small amounts should be used in connection with 
other feeds. They are a rich food and somewhat heavy on the 
digestion. The same is true of sunflowers, except that the seed is 
richer in oil than in protein, as beans are. Sunflowers in field culture 
are planted and cultivated like beans. The seed is flailed out of the 
heads after they lie for a time to dry. 

Jersey Kale. 

Please iiifor)ii mc hozv to plant Jersey or cow kale. 

Jersey kale can be planted by thin scattering of seeds in rows 
2^ feet apart so as to admit of cultivation, or the plants can be 
grown just as cabbage plants are and set out 2]^ or 3 feet apart, the 
squares to admit of cultivation both ways. The plant needs a good 



130 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

deal more space than an ordinary cabbage, for it makes a tall free 
growth, and space must be had for the growth of the plant and for 
going into the patch for stripping off leaves and cultivation. The 
plant can be started in the rainy season whenever the land comes 
into good condition. It is a winter grower in California valleys. 

Rape and Milo. 

Would rape be a good pasture crop sown broadcast? If so, at zvhat 
time should it be planted? Will Milo maize grow profitable in Sonoma 
county? 

Rape can be sown as soon as the land gets moist enough from 
early rains to start the seed and hold the growth. It is a winter- 
growing plant in this State. We believe, however, you will get better 
results with common vetch, which is also a winter grower and more 
nutritious. If you desire one of the cabbage family, kale will prob- 
ably serve you better than rape. Milo is one of the sorghums and 
will only grow during the frostless period, like Kafir, Egyptian corn 
and other sorghums. It will do well with you, but probably make 
less growth than in the interior valleys. 

Sweet Clover Not an Alfalfa. 

/ send you a sample of alfalfa which grows very vigorous here on 
my place spontaneously and zvould like you to give me all the informa- 
tion about it you will, as a feed for cozvs and hogs. The stock seem to 
eat it well. 

The plant is not alfalfa at all. It is white sweet clover (melilotus 
alba), and it is usually considered a great pest in alfalfa fields, because 
although it grows vigorously as you describe, it is not generally ac- 
cepted by stock, unless once in awhile some one considers it a good 
thing, perhaps because he keeps stock hungry enough to enjoy it 
in spite of its rank taste and smell, but usually when they can get 
alfalfa they will not pay much attention to this plant. It is good 
for bee pasturage, however, and is grown to some extent for that 
purpose. You probably had the seed of it in your alfalfa seed. It 
is a biennial and not a perennial like alfalfa. It will disappear if 
you can keep it from going to seed. 

Sweet Clover as a Cover Crop. 

How about melilotus as a cover crop? Last year in certain sections 
it proved very successful, while in others it did not give satisfaction. 

Melilotus, by virtue of its hardiness in growing at low tempera- 
tures, its depth of root penetration, the availability of the seed, the 
smallness of the seed so that the weight required for the acre is 
not large, is to be favored for a cover crop. The objections are two: 
The fact that it does not seem to grow well under some conditions; 
second, that when a growth is made it is coarse and rangey, and 
the amount of green stufT to the acre is much less than its appear- 



Grains and Forage Crops 131 

ance would indicate. We know of cases where what seemed to be 
a good stand of melilotus yielded only about ten tons of green stuff 
to the acre, and what appeared to be a less growth of vetches or 
peas yielded from fifteen to twenty tons to the acre. And yet we 
believe that in some places it will be found extremely desirable for 
a cover crop in harmony with what was reported some time ago as 
the result of experiments by the Arizona Experiment Station. 

Spineless Cactus. 

There seems to be tzvo distinct kinds of cactus: One for forage, thdi 
other for fruit. It is claimed by some people that the spineless cactus 
is more valuable as a forage plant than alfalfa. What is your opinion? 

There are many varieties of smooth cacti. Some of them bear 
higher quality fruit than others, and some are freer growers and 
bear a greater amount of leaf substance for forage purposes; there- 
fore, varieties are being developed which are superior for fruit or 
for forage, as the case may be. Spineless cactus is in no way com- 
parable with alfalfa, either in nutritive content or in value of crop, 
providing you have land and water which will produce a good product 
of alfalfa. Cactus is for lands which are in an entirely different 
class and which are not capable of alfalfa production. 

Probably Not Broom-Corn. 

/ have a side-hill ranch on zvhich I would very much like to raise 
broom corn. The soil produces good grapes, fruit, corn, oats, peas, etc., 
and I wish to know if there are possibilities of broom-straiv. 

All the broom-corn which has been successfully produced in 
California has been produced on moist, riverside land. The plant is 
a sorghum — consequently subject to frost injury, and can only be 
grown during the frostless season as Indian corn is. This makes it 
impossible to get the advantage of rainfall on winter upland and 
necessitates the use of lowlands, which carry moisture enough to 
secure a free growth of the brush, for poor broom-corn is worthless 
practically, being too low priced to be profitable for brooms and 
too fibrous to be of value for feeding purposes. Even in a place 
where the plant grows well its product is worthless unless properly 
treated, and that requires full knowledge and a good deal of work. 

The Outlook for Broom Corn, 

Broom corn is way up in price, but that is an indication that everyone 
who has ever grown broom corn is likely to plant it this year. What 
is the outlook in California? 

Nothing but a local experiment will determine whether you 
can get a satisfactory brush under the conditions prevailing in your 
vicinity. Undoubtedly, the high price of broom corn will stimulate 
production, but under quite sharp limitations in California, because 



132 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

a good, satisfactory brush cannot be grown on dry plains, although 
a good product is made in the river bottoms not far away. But 
there are so few people in California who understand how to handle 
broom corn to produce a good commercial article, and there are 
such rigid requirements in the size, quality, etc., that those who 
break into the business without proper knowledge cannot command 
even profitable prices. Therefore, if your enterprise is conducted 
with a full knowledge and with proper local conditions it would 
not encounter such a local disadvantage in the great increase of 
the product as one might think at first. 

Smutty Sorghum. 

The various plantings of Egyptian corn on the ranch have turned 
smutty, very much after the manner of zvheat and barley. Is there any 
unusual reason for this, or could irrigation have caused it, and what is 
the best method of preventing it? 

Sorghum is affected by a smut similar to that of other grains. 
It is due to the introduction of the germ of the disease which 
comes with the use of smutty seed. Possibly the growth of the 
smut may have been promoted by moisture arising from soil ren- 
dered very wet by irrigation, and for this plant free irrigation should 
not be used, because it will do more with less water than any other 
plant we are growing, and is likely to be more thrifty in a drier 
atmosphere. Get seed for next year from an absolutely clean field; 
get as much growth as you can without irrigation, and then use 
water in moderate quantities as may be necessary, followed by a 
cultivation for the drying of the surface. 

Late-sown Sorghum. 

Hoiu late can Egyptian corn be planted on good sediment soil capable 
of groiving 40 to 50 sacks of barley per acre in good years zvith ordinary 
rain? The Held was cut this year for hay on account of rank grozvth 
of wild oats, after irrigating; land is still moist. Can I put in Egyptian 
corn zvith an assurance of crop, or is it too late? How much seed should 
be planted to the acre, also should seed be drilled in or broad-casted? 

There is no difficulty in getting a start of Egyptian corn during 
the dry season providing the soil contains moisture enough to 
germinate the seed. Afterward the growth will be more or less 
according to the moisture present and will be available for forage 
purposes. Whether a seed crop can be had by late sowing depends 
upon the frost occurrence in the particular locality, for it only takes 
a light frost to destroy the plant. To get the best results, particu- 
larly with late sowing, the seeds should be drilled in rows far enough 
apart for horse cultivation; about forty pounds of seed to the acre. 
What you get in this way will depend upon the amount of moisture 
in the soil and the duration of the frost-freedom. 



Grains and Forage Crops 133 

Kaffir and Egyptian Corn. 

Does Kaffir corn yield as ivcll here as Egyptian corn? The fodder 
is good feed and the heads stand erect and at a more even height from 
the ground, zuhich makes three advantages over Egyptian. Irrigation in 
either case is the same. 

The reasons you mention have no doubt had much to do with 
the present popularity of an upright plant like Kafir over a goose- 
neck like the old dhoura or Egyptian, which was the type first 
introduced in California. For years there has been more goose- 
neck sorghum in the Sacramento valley than in any other part of 
the State. It may have superior local adaptions or the people may 
be more conservative. The way to determine which is better is 
to try it out, and, unless the Egyptian does better in grain and 
forage than the upright growers, take to the grain which holds its 
head up. 

Sorghums for Seed. 

Which sorghum is the most profitable to plant for the seed only — 
White Egyptian, Brozvn Egyptian or Yellow Milo? 

Which sorghum is best is apparently a local question and 
governed by local conditions to a certain extent. Egyptian corn 
(with the goose-neck stem) has held more popularity in your part 
of the Sacramento than elsewhere, while Kaffir corn (holding its 
head upright, as do many other sorghums) has been for years very 
popular in the San Joaquin. In the Imperial valley Dwarf Milo 
is chiefly grown for a seed crop shattering and bird invasion are 
very important. G. W. Dairs of the San Joaquin valley, says there 
is a very great difference in the different varieties regarding waste 
from the blackbird. The ordinary white Egyptian corn is very easily 
shelled, and the birds waste many times more of the grain than they 
eat, after it has become thoroughly ripe. The Milo maize, or red 
Egyptian corn, does not shell nearly so easily as the white corn, 
and the grain is considerably harder and less attractive to the black- 
birds. In fact, blackbirds will not work in a field of this variety of 
corn if there is any white corn in the vicinity to be had. The 
dwarf Milo maize yields much more crop than the white Egyptian 
corn, or any other variety. Blackbirds do not damage the white 
Kaffir corn to the extent they do the ordinary white Egyptian corn. 

Sorghum Planting. 

What is the best time to soiu Egyptian corn; also hozv much per 
acre to sow? 

All the sorghums, of which Egyptian corn is one, must be sown 
after frost danger is over — the time widely known as suitable for 
Indian corn, squashes and other tender plants. Sow thinly in shallow 
furrows or "marks," ZYi or 4 feet apart and cultivate as long as 
you can easily get through the rows with a horse. About 8 pounds 
of seed is used per acre. If grown for green fodder, sow more 
thickly and make the rows closer, say 2^ feet apart. 



134 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Buckwheat Growing. 

Tzvo or three farmers in this locality desire to plant bnckzvheat. Not 
having, done so heretofore they are in doubt as to the soil and other 
conditions that go to make a successful crop. 

Tlic growing of buckwheat in California is an exceedingly small 
affair. The local market is very limited, as most California hot 
cakes are made of wheat flour. There is no chance for outward 
shipment, and the crop itself, being capable of growing only during 
the frostless season, has to be planted on moist lands where there 
is not only abundant summer moisture but an air somewhat humid. 
Irrigated uplands, even in the frostless season, are hardly suitable 
for the common buckwheat, although they may give the growth of 
Japanese buckwheat for beekeepers who use dark honey for bee 
feeding. The Japanese buckwheat is well suited for this because it 
keeps blooming and produces a scattered crop of seed, but this 
characteristic makes it less suitable for a grain crop, and it has 
therefore never become very popular in tliis State. We consider 
buckwheat as not worthy of much consideration by California farmers. 

Variation in Russian Sunflowers. 

In an acre of nianunoth Russian sunlloivers there seems to be thrcA 
varieties; some of the phuits bear but one large Hoxvcr; others bear a 
floiver at the top ivith many other smaller ones circling it, zvhile others have 
long stalks jtist above the leaf stems from the ground level all the way 
tip to the largest flower, which appears at the very top. Are all these 
varieties true mammoth Russian sunHozvers? What explanation is there 
for these variations? Will the seed from the variety carrying but one 
natural head produce seed that will reproduce true to the parent? 

Your sunflowers are probably only playing the pranks their 
grandfathers enjoyed. If seed is gatliered indiscriminately from all 
the heads which appear in the crop, succeeding generations will keep 
reverting until they return to the wild type, or something near it. 
If there is a clear idea of what is the best type (one great head or 
several heads, placed in a certain way) and seed is continually taken 
from such plants only for planting, more and more plants will be 
of this kind until the type becomes fixed and reversions will only 
rarely appear. No seed should be kept for planting without selecting 
it from what you consider the best type of plant; no field should 
be grown for commercial seed without rogue-ing out the plants 
which show reversions or bad variations. If you find sunflowers profitable 
as a crop in your locality, rigid selection of seed should be practiced by 
all growers, after careful comparison of views and a decision as to the 
best characters to select for. 

Sacaline. 

My attention has been brought to a plant called Sacaline by an East- 
ern plant dealer. He states that this plant Zi'ill grozv in any kind of soil 
and needs practically no water. 



Grains and Forage Crops 135 

The plant Sacaline (Polygonum saghalience) was introduced to 
California as a dry-land forage plant about 1893, and has never 
demonstrated any particular forage value. It is a browsing shrub, 
making woody stem, and cattle will eat it readily when not pro- 
vided with better food. It has possible value on waste land, but 
probably is in no sense superior to the native shrubs of California 
which serve that purpose. It is a handsome ornamental plant for 
gardens or parks. 

Mossy Lawns. 

What li'ill destroy patches of moss which are spreading over our 
lawns and apparently destroying the grass? 

More sunlight would have a tendency to discourage the growth 
of moss on a lawn. If this is not feasible, irrigation less frequently 
but a more thorough soaking each time will give the surface a better 
chance to dry ofif, and moss will not grow on a dry surface. The 
frequent spraying of a lawn with just enough water to keep the 
surface moist and not enough water to penetrate deeply will tend to 
the growing of moss and to less vigor in the growth of the grass, 
A good soaking of the soil once a week is better than daily sprink- 
ling, but, of course, very much more water must be used when you 
only sprinkle at long intervals. The drying of the surface may be 
assisted by sprinkling with air-slaked lime and this will discourage 
the growth of moss, but of course lime must not be used in excess 
or it will also injure the grass. 

Scattering Grass Seeds. 

We live on the west side of Sonoma valley, and want to seed some 
of our fields with a good wild grass. We want to carry bags of it in 
our pockets to scatter when we ride. Timothy zve should like, hut this 
is not its habitat, is it? Can you suggest a grass or grasses that zvould 
do well here? 

There are really wild grasses worthy of multiplication, but no 
one makes a business of collecting the seed for sale, so that such 
seeds are not available for such purpose as you describe. Of the 
introduced grasses, those which are most likely to catch from early* 
scattered seed are Australian and Italian rye grasses, orchard grass, 
wild oat grass and red top. You can get seed of all these from 
dealers in any quantity which you desire at from 15 to 30 cents a 
pound, according to the variety, and make a mixture of equal parts 
of each grass, which you can carry and scatter as you propose. 
Some of them will catch somewhere, particularly in spots where the 
shade modifies the summer heat and where seepage moisture re- 
duces soil drought. You are right about timothy; it is good farther 
up the coast and in the mountain valleys, but not in your district. 

Poultry Forage. 

/ have light sandy loam on ivhich I desire to grow forage for chickens. 
It lies too high for irrigation. 



136 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

You could probably grow alfalfa to advantage if tbe soil is 
deep and loose, getting less, of course, than by irrigation, but still 
an amount that would be very helpful in your chicken business. 
Otherwise, as the land lies higher and perhaps out of sharp frosts, 
you could grow winter crops of vetches and peas and thus improve 
the land while furnishing you additional poultry pasture. The latter 
purpose could also be served by growing beets, cabbage or other 
hardy vegetables during the rainy season. This is prescribed be- 
cause of the apprehension that the soil may not contain moisture 
enough for summer cropjMug without irrigation. 

No Grain Elevators in California. 

Is California zvlicat shipped in bulk or in bags at the present time? 

There are no elevators in this State, owing to the fact that 
hitherto grain cargoes have been acceptable to ship only as sacked 
grain, because of claimed danger of shifting cargo and disaster dur- 
ing the long voyage around the Horn. A novel by Frank Norris, 
entitled the "Octopus," describes a man being killed by smothering 
in a grain elevator at Port Costa, but there never was an elevator 
at that point, and consequently there never was a man killed by 
getting under the spout thereof. Answering specifically your ques- 
tion, California grain is shipped in bags and not in bulk. It is 
handled in sacks from the separator to roadside or riverside storage, 
to the loading point into the ships and out of the ships on the other 
side — still in bags. 

New Zealand Flax. 

Give information about Phormium tenax (Neiv Zealand Hax), zvhich 
I see is imported to San Francisco in large quantities yearly for making 
cordage and binder tiuine, and is said also to be the best of bee pasture. 
Can I get the plants on the coast, and is California soil and climate adapted 
to the culture? 

New Zealand flax grows admirably in the coast region of Cali- 
fornia. You will find it in nearly all the public parks and in private 
'gardens, for it is a very ornamental perennial. Plants can be had 
in any quantity from the California nurserymen and florists. It 
produces plenty of leaves, but we should doubt whether it is floriferous 
enough for bee pasturage except where it occurs wild over a large 
acreage. You could get vastly more honey from other plants grown 
for that purpose. 

No Home-made Beet Sugar. 

Is there a)iy siniple process of making sugar from beets so that I 
could make my own sugar at tnune from my own beets 7<'hite sugar is so 
very expensive to buyf 

There is no simple way of making beet sugar. It can only be 
economically done in factories costing hundreds of thousands of 
dollars. 



Grains and Foragk Crops 137 

Don't Get Crazy About Special Crops. 

/ ivant information about flax as a crop. I have been haz'ing some 
land graded for alfalfa and I have had to wait so long I am tiozv doubt- 
ing the advisability of seeding it all under these conditions until fall, as 
hot zveather zvill soon come. I want some good crop to plant in the checks 
and give tiuo good irrigations. What would you think about rye for straiv 
for horse collars? I do not wish to consider corn, as the stalks zvould 
be troublesome. Potatoes zvould necessitate disarranging the land too 
much and would require more attention than I am in shape to give just 
nozv. Everybody grozvs wheat, barley and oats. I zvant something that 
I can get a special market for. 

To succeed with flax, the seed ought to he sown in the fall, or 
early winter, in California, and the plant will make satisfactory 
growth under about the same conditions that suit barley or wheat. 
Spring sowing would not give you anything worth while except on 
moist bottom land. Rye is also a winter-growing grain. To grow 
rye straw for horse collars would be unprofitable unless you coukl 
find some local saddler who could use a little, and it is probable you 
could not get a summer growth of rye which would give good straw, 
even if you had a market for it. You could get a growth of stock 
beets, field squashes, or pumpkins for stock feeding. In fact, the 
latter would give you most satisfaction if you have stock to which 
they can be fed to advantage. Sorghum is our chief dry-season crop, 
but that makes stalks like corn and would, therefore, be open to the 
same objections. Has it never occurred to you that people grow 
the common crops, not because they are stupid, but because those 
are the things for which there is a constant demand and the best 
chance for profitable sale? Efiforts to supply special markets are 
worth thinking of, but seldom worth making unless you know just 
who is going to buy the product and at what price. 

California Insect Powder. 

What part of the plant is used in making insect pozvder and hozv is 
it prepared? Is the plant a perennial? What soil suits it best? 

The plant is Pyrethrum cinerariaefolium and has a white blossom 
resembling the common marguerite. The powder is made of the 
petals and the seed capsules or heads are thoroughly dried in the 
sun and ground with a run of stone such as was formerly used for 
making flour. The powder must be finely ground, and only good 
powder can be made in a mill suitably equipped for that purpose. 
The plant is a perennial, beginning to bloom the second year from 
seed. It will grow in any good soil with ordinary cultivation. Twenty- 
five years ago it was thought that a great California industry might 
be established on that basis, but there is at the present time but one 
establishment, which grows about all the material it can use on its 
own ranch in Merced county, on a fine, deep loam which the plant 
seems to enjoy. 



138 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Rotations for California. 

/ zvish to work out a practical system of crop rotation suitable to the 
climate and conditions obtaining in southern California. Would you 
recommend different systems for grain lands and irrigated lands? 

General schemes of rotation are hard to work out in California. 
They must be locally revised according to the local temperature con- 
ditions and the local market also. We should endeavor to find out 
what has been successfully grown on similar lands to those which 
you have in mind and arrange the rotation on that basis, from what 
we knew of the relation of the different plants to soil fertility, etc. 
You cannot make out a satisfactory local scheme for the seven coun- 
ties in southern California, because of the widely different behavior 
of the separate plants in the different parts of the district. You can 
hardly work on the basis of soil character: moisture supply and tem- 
peratures are more determinative. Surely you should make a scheme 
for irrigated land different from that for dry land, and it could not 
only be a longer rotation, but many more plants would be available 
for its service. 

Berseem? 

Berseem has been introduced into this country from Egypt, and would 
like to know if it has been used in California, and if it has come up^ 
to expectations. 

Berseem is an annual clover supposed to grow only during the 
summer time. It has been tried widely in California, but practically 
abandoned because it will not grow during the rainy season. It is in 
no way comparable to alfalfa, which is a deep rooted perennial plant, 
nor would it be comparable with burr clover as a winter grower on 
lands which have a moderate amount of water. 

Heating and Fermentation. 

Please explain why dampness zvill cause anything like hay, Egyptian 
corn or other like products to heat. 

Heating is due to fermentation, which means the action upon 
the vegetable substance of germs which begin to grow and multiply 
after their kind whenever conditions favor them. The earlier stages 
of this action is called "sweating," and it is beneficial as in the case 
of hay, tobacco, dried fruits, etc., as is commonly recognized — resulting 
in what is known as curing — and it is the art of the handler of such 
products not to allow the action to go beyond what may be called 
the normal "sweating." If not checked by proper handling, which 
involves drying, cooling, etc., fermentation will continue, and mher 
germs will find conditions suitable for them to take up their work of 
destruction, and this new action produces higher temperature still, 
and if not checked by cooling or drying or otherwise making the 
substance inhospitable to them, "heating" will result, and thence on- 
ward rapidly to decay, if they have everything their own way. 



Grains and Forage Crops 139 

Moonshine Farming. 

IV hat influence, if any, has the moon on plant growth^ Arc there 
any reliable data of experiments available? 

Very prolonged investigation by the Weather Bureau determined 
that no difference was found in planting in different phases of the 
moon. If we paid any attention to it, we should plant in the dark 
of the moon, so as to get the plants up so that they could use the 
little more light which the moon gives. It is, however, more import- 
ant to have the soil right than the moon. 



PART IV. SOILS, FERTILIZERS 
AND IRRIGATION 



What is Intensive Cultivation? 

From whom can I receive instruction or information regarding in- 
tensive cultivation f 

Intensive cultivation has, so far as we know, not been made the 
subject of any treatise or publication. Intensive cultivation means 
the use of a maximum amount of labor, fertilizers and water for pro- 
ducts of high market value. There is no better example of intensive 
cultivation in the world than is afforded by the practice of the best 
market gardeners and producers of small fruit. Next to them, on 
larger areas, would be the policies and methods of the fruit growers 
of California. Intensive culture, then, is not a particular method or 
system, but consists in doing the best thing for maximum production 
of any product which is valuable enough to spend the large outlay 
which is required. Just how this cultivation should be done depends 
upon the nature of the product and the conditions of soil and climate 
in whatever locality intensive cultivation may be undertaken. 

Can a Man Farm? 

Is it possible for a man with a few acres zvell cared for and care- 
fully tilled to make a living and pay out on a purchase of land at $125 
per acre? Could a good carpenter make wages and take care of a small 
tract for a year or so until well under way? 

We consider $125 per acre for good land with a good water right 
a fair price. Financing a farming operation depends more upon the 
man than upon the good land. There are men who would, by intensive 
cultivation of salable stufT and right use of water, pay ofif the full 
value of the land from its produce in a couple of years. Others will 
never pay ofif. Of course, the nearer you can come to paying for the 
land at the beginning, and the more money you have for improve- 
ments, the more satisfactory j^our situation should be in every respect. 
There is a good chance for carpenter work in colony development, 
and considerable self-help could be secured in that way. You do not 
say whether you know anything about farming. Farming is a very 
complicated business and a basic knowledge derived from experience 
is a proper foundation to build upon in the light of the fuller applica- 
tion of scientific principles. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 141 

Soil Depth for Citrus Trees. 

/ have a top soil of rich loam containing small rocks and pebbles. 
Underneath it is washed gravel, rocks, boulders, yellow sand, etc. What 
is the limit as to thinness before trees will not grow, or thrive? 

Orange trees are growing quite successfully on shallow soil over- 
lying clay where the use of water and fertilizers was carefully adjusted 
so as to keep the trees supplied with just the right amount. Under 
such conditions a good growth may be expected so long as this treat- 
ment is maintained. There should be, however, not less than three 
feet of good soil to make the large expenditure necessary to establish 
an orange orchard permanently productive, and all the depth you can 
get beyond three feet is desirable. We question the desirability of 
planting orange trees even on a good soil overlying gravel, rocks or 
sand. Roots will penetrate such material only a short distance usu- 
ally. It is almost impossible with such a leachy foundation to keep 
the surface soil properly moistened and enriched. You are apt to lose 
both water and fertilizer into the too rapid drainage. 

Soils and Oranges. 

/ Und this entire district underlaid with hardpan at various depths, 
from I to 6 feet dozvn, and of various thicknesses. This hardpan is 
more or less porous and seeps up ivatcr to some extent, but is too hard 
for roots to penetrate. It is represented to me that if this hard pan 
is down from 4 to 5 feet it docs not interfere with the grozvth of thd 
orange tree or its producing. Is 4 or 5 feet of the loam enough? 

Four or five feet of good soil over a hardpan, which was some- 
what porous, is likely to be satisfactory for orange planting. There 
has been trouble from hardpan too near the surface and from the oc- 
currence of a hardpan too rich in lime, which has resulted in yellow 
leaf and other manifestations of unthrift in the tree. Discussion of 
this subject is given on page 434 of the fifth edition of our book on 
"California Fruits," where we especially commend a good depth of 
"strong, free loam." This does not mean necessarily deep. The or- 
ange likes rather a heavier soil, while a deep sandy loam is preferred 
by some other fruits. If you keep the moisture supply regular and 
right and feed the plant with fertilizers, as may be required, the soil 
you mention is of sufficient depth — if it is otherwise satisfactory. 

Oranges Over High Ground Water. 

Does California experience shozv that citrus trees can be grown upon 
land successfully where the water-level is 6 feet from the surface; that 
is, ivhere water is found at that level at all seasons and does not appear 
to rise higher during the rainy season? 

We do not know of citrus trees in California with ground-water 
permanently at six feet below the surface. If the soil should be a free 
loam and the capillarity therefore somewhat reduced, orange trees 
would probably be permanently productive. If the soil were very 



142 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

heavy, capillary rise might be too energetic and saturate the soil for 
some distance above the water-level. In a free soil without this danger 
the roots could approach the water as they find it desirable and be 
permanently supplied. Orange trees are largely dependent upon a 
shallow root system, the chief roots generally occupying the first four 
feet below the surface. From this fact we conclude that deep rooting 
is not necessary to the orange, although unquestionably deep rooting 
and deep penetration for water are desirable as allowing the tree to 
draw upon a much greater soil mass and therefore be less dependent 
upon freciuent irrigations and fertilizations. 

Depth of Ground-Water. 

Is there probable harm from water standing 12 feet from the surface 
in an orchard? Also probable age of trees before any effect of said 
water would be felt by them? The soil is almost entirely chocolate 
dry bog. — IV. E. Wahtoke. 

Water at twelve feet from the surface is desirable, and water at 
that point will be indefinitely desirable for the growing of fruit trees. 
Of course, conditions would change rapidly as standing water might 
approach more nearly to the surface, a condition which has to be care- 
fully guarded against in irrigation. But it can come nearer than twelve 
feet without danger. 

Summer Fallow and Summer Cropping. 

/ oivn some hill land which has been run doivn by continuous hay 
cropping. I am told that a portion must be summer-fallowed each year, 
but I zvish to grow some summer crop on this fallow ground that will 
both enrich the soil and at the same time furnish good milk-producing 
feed for cows — thoroughly cultivating it bctiveen the rozus. What crop 
would be best? I am told the common Kaffir or Egyptian corn are 
both soil enriching and milk producing. 

If you grow a summer crop on the summer-fallowed upland, you 
lose the chief advantage of summer fallowing, which is the storing of 
moisture for the following year's crop. A cultivated crop would waste 
less moisture than a broadcast crop, surely, but on uplands without 
irrigation it would take out all the moisture available and not act in 
the line of a summer fallow. 

Kaffir corn is not soil enriching. It has no such character. It 
probably depletes the soil just as much as an ordinary corn or hay 
crop. It is a good food to continue a milking period into the dry sea- 
son, but you must be careful not to allow your cattle to get too much 
green sorghum, for it sometimes produces fatal results. We do not 
know anything which you can grow during the summer without irriga- 
tion which would contribute to the fertility of your land. If you had 
water and could grow clover or some legume during the summer sea- 
son, the desired effect on the soil would be secured. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 143 

Soils and Crop Changes. 

Peas and sivcct peas do not grozv well continuously in the same 
ground. I know this practically in my experience, but in no book have 
I ever found zvhy they do not grow. 

There are two very good reasons why some classes of plants can- 
not be well grown continuously in the same piece of ground. One is 
the depletion of available plant food, the other the formation of in- 
jurious compounds by the plants, or the gradual increase of fungoid, 
bacterial or animate pests in the soil, which finally become abundant 
enough to seriously hinder growth. Different plants take the plant 
foods, as nitrogen, lime, potash, phosphates, etc., in different propor- 
tion. More important, perhaps, is the fact that the root acids that 
extract these foods are of different types and strength. Thus before 
many seasons it may happen that most of the plant food of one or 
more kinds may be nearly exhausted as far as that kind of plant is 
concerned that has grown there continually, while there would be 
plenty of easily available food for plants with a different kind of root 
system and different root acids, etc. This is one reason why rotation 
of crops is so good; it gives a combination of root acids and root sys- 
tems to the soil during a term of years, and it also frees the soil from 
one certain kind of organism because it cannot survive the absence 
of the particular plants on which it thrives. 

Summer-Fallow Before Fruit Planting. 

/ recently bought a ranch at Sheridan, Placer county, and zvas 
intending to put jo acres to peaches and 50 acres to wheat or barley, 
but the residents tell me that the land must be summer-fallowed before 
I can do anything. The soil is a red loam and has not been plowed 
for six years. 

Your local advisers are probably right as to the necessity for sum- 
mer-fallowing in order to conserve moisture from a previous year's 
rainfall and to get the land otherwise into good condition. There 
might be such a generous rainfall that an excellent crop might come 
without summer-fallowing, and the results will depend upon the rain- 
fall. If it should be small in amount, you might not recover your seed. 
By the same sign you might not get much growth on your fruit trees, 
but you could help them by constant cultivation and by using the 
water-wagon if the season should be very dry. Therefore, you are 
likely to do better with trees than with grain without summer-fallow- 
ing, although even for trees it is a decided advantage to have more 
moisture stored in the subsoil and the surface soil pulverized by more 
tillage. 

Defects in Soil Moisture. 

/ have apricot trees that appear to be almost dead; all but a very 
fezv small green leaves are gone, and they look bad, still I think they 
might be saved if I only knew what to do. 



144 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Presumably your apricot tree is suffering from too much standing 
water during the dormant season, or from a lack of water during the 
dry season. Tlfe remedy would be to correct moisture conditions, 
either by underdrainage for winter excess or by irrigation for summer 
deficiency. When a tree gets into a position such as you describe, it 
should be cut back freely and irrigation supplied, if the soil is dry, in 
the house that the roots may be able to restore themselves and pro- 
mote a new growth in the top. 

Dry Plowing for Soil and Weed Growth. 

Is there any scientific reason to support the belief that it is injurious 
to the soil to dry-plow it for seeding to grain this fall and ivinterf 
Will dry-plowing now cause a worse grozvth of filth after the rains than 
the customary fallozving in the spring? Should the stubble be burned, o)' 
plotvcd under? 

The points against dry-plowing to which you allude may arise 
from two claims or beliefs: first; that turning up land to the sun has 
a tendency to "burn out the humus"; second, that dry-plowing may 
leave the land so rough and cloddy that a small rainfall is currently 
lost by evaporation and leaves less moisture available for a crop than 
if it is plowed in the usual way after the rains. The first claim is 
probably largely fanciful, so far as an upturning in the reduced sun- 
shine of the autumn goes. Whatever there may be in it would occur 
in vastly increased degree in a properly worked summer-fallow, and 
even that is negligible, because of the greater advantage which the 
summer-fallow yields. There may be cases in which one will get less 
growth on dry-plowing than on winter plowing, if the land is rough and 
the rain scant, and yet dry-plowing before' the rains is a foundation 
for moisture reception and retention — if the land is not only plowed, 
but is also harrowed or otherwise worked down out of its large cloddy 
condition. When that is done, dry-plowing may be a great help to- 
ward early sowing and large growth afterward. As for weeds, dry- 
plowing may help their starting, but that is an advantage and not 
otherwise, because they can be destroyed by cultivation before sowing. 
If the land is full of weed seed, the best thing to do is to start it and 
kill it. The trouble with dry-plowing probably arises, not from the 
plowing, but from lack of work enough between the plowing and the 
sowing. Stubble should often be burned: it depends upon the soil and 
the rainfall. On a heavy soil with a good rainfall, plowing-in stubble 
is an addition to the humus of the soil, because conditions favor its 
reduction to that form, and there is moisture enough to accomplish 
that and promote also a satisfactory growth of the new crop. 

Treatment of Dry-Plowed Land. 

We are plozving a piece of light sandy mesa land, dry, zvhich has 
considerable tarzveed and other zveeds growing before plozving. Which 
would be best, to leave the land as it is until the rains come and then 
harrozv, or harroiv nozv? Would the land left zvithout harrowing gather 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 145 

any elements from the air before rain comes? The above land is for 
oat hay and beans next season. 

Roll down the tar-weed, if it is tall and likely to be troublesome, 
and plow in at once so that decay may begin as soon as the land gets 
moisture from the rain. It would be well to allow the land to lie in 
that shape, and disc in the seed without disturbing the weeds which 
have been plowed under. If all this is done early, with plenty of rain 
coming there is likely to be water enough to settle the soil, decay the 
weeds, and grow the hay crop. Of course, such practice could not be 
commenced much later in the season. The land gains practically noth- 
ing from the atmosphere by lying in its present condition. If there 
is any appreciable gain, it would be larger after breaking up as pro- 
posed. In dry farming, harrowing or disking should be done immedi- 
ately after plowing, not to produce a fine surface as for a seed bed, 
but to settle the soil enough to prevent too free movement of dry air. 
If your rainfall is ample, the land may be left looser for water-settling. 

For a Refractory Soil. 

What can I do to soil that dries out and crusts over so hard that it 
won't permit vegetable grozvthf A liberal amount of stable manure has 
been applied, and the land deeply plowed, harroived and cultivated, but 
as soon as ivater gets on it, it forms a deep crust on evaporation. Will 
guano help, or is sodium nitrate or potash the thingf 

None of the things you mention are of any particular use for the 
specific purpose you describe. Keep on working in stable manure or 
rotten straw, or any other coarse vegetable matter, when the soil is 
moist enough for its decay. Plow under all the weeds you can grow, 
or green barley or rye, and later grow a crop of peas or vetches to 
plow in green. Keep at this till the pesky stufif gets mellow. If you 
think the soil is alkaline, use gypsum freely; if not, dose it with lime 
to the limit of your purse and patience, and put in all the tillage you 
can whenever the soil breaks well. 

More Manure, Water and Cultivation Required. 

/ have a small place on a hillside, zvith brown soil about one to two 
feet deep to hardpan and I am getting rather discouraged, as so many 
things fail to come up and others grow so very slowly after they ar^ 
up. A neighbor planted some dahlia roots the same time I did. Only 
one of mine came up and it is not in bloom yet, while several of his 
have been blooming for some zvecks and are ten times as large in mass 
of foliage as mine zmth its lone stalk and one little bud on the top. Pea^ 
came up and kept dying at the bottom with blossoms at the top till 
they were four or five feet high, but I never could get enough peas for 
a mess. Can you help me get this thing right? 

Use of stable manure and water freely. Your trouble probably 
lies either in the lack of plant food or of moisture in the soil. This, 
of course, is supposing that you cultivate well so that the moisture 
you use shall not be evaporated and the ground hardened by the 



146 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

process. During the summer a good surface application of stable 
manure to which water can be applied would be better than to work 
manure into the soil, which should be done at the beginning of the 
rainy season. As your soil is so shallow it will be well for you to 
stand along the side of the plant much of the time with a bucket 
of water in one hand and a shovel of manure in the other. 

Planting Trees in Alkali Soil. 

My land contains a considerable quantity of both the black and zvhite 
alkalies, the upper two feet being a rather heavy, sticky clay, the next 
three feet below being Ane sand, containing more or less alkali, while 
immediately underneath this sand is a dense black muck in which, sum- 
mer and winter, is found the ground-water. Do you think the following 
method of setting trees zvould be advantageous. E.vcavate for each tree 
a hole three feet in diameter and three feet deep. Fill in a layer of three 
or four inches of coarse hay, forming a lining for the excavation. Then 
till the hole zvith sandy loam in zvhich the tree is to be set. The sandy 
loam zvould give the young tree a good start, zvhile the lining of hay 
would break up the capillary attraction betzvcen the £lled-in sand and 
the ground-water in the surrounding alkali-charged soil. 

The fresh soil which you put in would before long be impreg- 
nated through the surface evaporation of the rising moisture, which 
your straw lining would not long exclude. The trees would not be 
permanently satisfactory under such conditions as you describe, 
though they might grow well at first. It would be interesting, of 
course, to make a small-scale experiment to demonstrate what would 
actually occur and it would, perhaps, give you a chance to sell out 
to a tenderfoot. 

Planting in Mud, 

Why does ground lose its vitality or its growing qualities when it is 
plowed or stirred zuhen wet, and does this act in all kinds of soil in the 
same zvayf We are planting a fig and olive orchard at the present time, 
but some were planted zvhcn the ground was extremely zvct. The holes 
zvere dug before the rain and after a heavy rain they started to plant. 
After placing the trees in the holes they filled them half full zvith wet 
dirt, in fact so wet that it zvas actually slush. What zvould you advise 
under the circumstances and what can be done to counteract this? We 
have not finished filling in the holes since the planting zvas done, which 
zvas about a week ago. 

The soil loses its vitality after working when too wet, because 
it is thrown into bad mechanical (or physical) condition and there- 
fore becomes difficult of root extension and of movement of moist- 
ure and air. How easily soil may be thrown into bad mechanical 
condition depends upon its character. A light sandy loam could be 
plowed and trees planted as you describe without serious injury per- 
haps, while such a treatment of a clay would bring a plant into the 
midst of a soil brick which would cause it to spindle and perhaps 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 147 

to fail outright. The best treatment would consist in keeping the 
soil around the roots continually moist, yet not too wet. The upper 
part of the holes should be filled loosely and the ground kept from 
surface compacting. The maintenance of such a condition during 
the coming summer will probably allow the trees to overcome the 
mistake made at their planting, unless the soil should be a tough 
adobe or other soil which has a disposition to act like cement. 

Electro-Agriculture. 

Kindly tell me of any one who is luorking upon the application of 
electricity to stimulating agricultural grozvth — especially here on the Coast. 
A friend who has done some work in this line seeks to interest me. I 
have seen notices of this work, and have read of Professor Arrhenius 
stimulating the mental activity of children, etc., but I desire more definite 
information, if possible. Does the idea seem to you to he feasible? 

So far as we know, there has been no local trial of the effect of 
electric light in stimulating plant growth. Much has been done with 
it in Europe and in this country. There is much about it in Euro- 
pean scientific literature. It is perfectly rational that increased 
growth should be attained by continuous light in the same way, 
though in less degree than occurs in the extreme north during the 
period of the midnight sun. It is known that moonlight, to the 
extent of its illumination, increases plant growth, and it has been 
amply demonstrated that light is light, just as heat is heat, irre- 
spective of the source thereof. Of course, the commercial advantage 
must be sought in the relative amount of increased growth and the 
selling value of whatever is gained in point of time. 

High Hardpan and Low Water. 

What detriment is hardpan if 14 inches belozv the surface and in some 
places 12 inches? I have been plowing so I could set peach trees, but I 
have been told that they zvill not grow. I would like your opinion about 
it. I intended to blast holes for the trees, and the water is 30 feet from 
surface. The top soil is red sandy and clay mixed, but it zvorks very 
easily. 

You cannot expect much from trees on such a shallow soil over 
hardpan without breaking it up, because the soil mass available to 
the trees is small; also because the shallow surface layer over hard- 
pan will soon dry out in spite of the best cultivation, because there 
is no moisture supply from below. If such a soil should be selected 
for fruit trees at all, the breaking through the hardpan by dynamite 
or otherwise is desirable, and irrigation will be, probably, indis- 
pensable. 

Depth of Cultivation. 

/ would be glad to knozv zvhether in cultivating an orchard a light- 
draft harrow could profitably be used, which cultivates three and a half 
inches deep? I have used another cultivator, and try to have it go at 
least seven inches. 



148 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

A depth of 3 1-2 inches is not satisfactory in orchard cultiva- 
tion, although there may be some condition under which greater 
depth would be difficult to obtain because of root injury to trees, 
which have been encouraged to root near the surface. Both experi- 
ence and actual determinations of moisture in this State show that 
cultivation to a depth of 5 inches conserves twice as much moisture 
in the lower soil as can be saved by a 3-inch depth of cultivation 
under similar soil conditions and water supply. It is all the better 
to go 7 inches if young trees have been treated that way from the 
beginning. 

Alfalfa Over Hardpan. 

/ have land graded for alfalfa and some of the checks are low and 
water zvill stand on the low checks in the winter. There is on an average 
from tzvo to three feet of soil on top of hardpan and hardpan is about 
tzvo feet thick. Will zuater drain off the lozu checks if the hardpan is 
dynamited, and will this land grow alfalfa with profit? 

Yes ; much of the hardpan in your district is thin enough and under- 
laid by permeable strata so that drainage is readily secured by break- 
ing up the hardpan. Standing water on dormant alfalfa is not in- 
jurious. 

Trees Over High- Water. 

Which are the best fruit trees to plant on black adobe soil zvith zvatcr 
table between 3 and 4 feet from surface? The soil is very rich and pro- 
ductive. The land is leveled for alfalfa also; zvill the alfalfa disturb the 
growth of trees? 

We would not plant such land to fruit at all, except a family 
orchard. The fruits most likely to succeed are pears and pecans. 
On such land alfalfa should not hurt trees unless it is allowed to 
actually strangle them. The alfalfa may help the trees by pumping 
out some of the surplus water. 

Soil Suitable for Fruits. 

/ atn sending samples of soil in which there are apricots and prunes 
growing, and ask you to examine it with reference to its suitability for 
other fruits. Will lemons thrive in this soil? 

It is not necessary to have analysis of the soil. If you find by 
experience that apricot and prune trees are doing well, it is a dem- 
onstration of its suitability for the orange, so far as soil is con- 
cerned. The same would also be a demonstration for soil suitability 
for the lemon because the lemon is always grown on orange root. 
The thing to be determined is whether the temperature conditions 
suit the lemon and whether you have an irrigation supply available, 
because citrus fruits, being evergreen, require about fifty per cent 
more moisture than deciduous fruits, and they are not grown suc- 
cessfully anywhere in this State without irrigation, except, possibly, 
on land with underflow. The matter to determine then is the surety 
of suitable temperatures and water supply. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 149 

For Blowing Soils. 

/ am going to dry-sow rye late this fall. I want some leguminous 
plant to seed with the rye for a zvind-break crop, not to plow under. 
The land varies from heavy loam to blow-sand. I have under considera- 
tion szvcct clover, burr clover, vetches. I sec occasional stray plants of 
sweet clover (the white-blossomed) growing in the alfalfa on both hard 
and sandy soil. I read in an Eastern bee journal that sweet clover can 
be sowed on hard uncultivated land with success. Could I grow it on 
the hard vacant spots that occur in the alfalfa Helds? 

You can sow these leguminous plants all along during the earlier 
part of the rainy season (September to December) except that they 
will not make a good start in cold ground which does not seem to 
bother rye much. But on sand you are not likely to get cold, water- 
logged soil, so you can put in there whenever you like — the earlier 
the better, however, if you have moisture enough in the soil to sus- 
tain the growth as well as start it. We should sow rye and common 
vetch. Sweet clover will grow anywhere, from a river sandbar to 
an uncovered upland hardpan, but it will not do much if your vacant 
spots are caused by alkali. 

More Than Dynamite Needed. 

/ have some peculiar land. People here call it cement. It does not 
take irrigation water readily, and water will pass over it for a long time 
and not wet down more than an inch or so. When really zuet it can be 
dipped up with a spoon. Hardpan is down about 24 to 36 inches. I have 
tried blowing up between the vines with dynamite, and see little differ- 
ence. Can you suggest anything to loosen up the soil? 

You could not reasonably expect dynamite to transform the 
character of the surface soil except as its rebelliousness might in 
some casjs be wholly due to lack of drainage — in that case blasting 
the hardpan might work wonders. But you have another problem, 
viz: to change the physical condition of the surface soil to prevent 
the particles from running together and cementing. This is to be 
accomplished by the introduction of coarse particles, preferably of 
a fibrous character. To do this the free use of rotten straw or 
stable manure, deeply worked into the soil, and the growth of green 
crops for plowing under, is a practical suggestion. Such treatment 
would render your soil mellow, and, in connection with blasting of 
the hardpan to prevent accumulation of surplus water over it, would 
accomplish the transformation which you desire. The cost and profit 
of such a course you can figure out for yourself. 

Is Dynamite Needed? 

/ have an old prune orchard on river bottom lands; soil about IS or 
16 feet deep. Quite a number of trees have died, I presume from old 
age. I desire to remove them and to replace them, zvith prune trees. I 
have been advised to use dynamite in preparing the soil for the planting 
of the new trees. 



ISO One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Whether you need dynamite or not depends upon the condition 
of the sub-soil. If you are on river flats with an alluvial soil, rather 
loose to a considerable depth, dynamiting is not necessary. If, by 
digging, you encounter hardpan, or clay, dynamiting may be very 
profitable. This matter must be looked into, because the failure of 
trees on river lands is more often due to their planting over gravel 
streaks, which too rapidly draw ofif water and cause the tree to fail 
for lack of- moisture. In such cases dynamite would only aggravate 
the trouble. Dynamiting should be done in the fall and not in the 
spring. The land should have a chance to settle and readjust itself 
by the action of the winter rains; otherwise, your trees may dry out 
too much next summer. 

Improving Heavy Soils. 

What is adobe? What kind of plants zvill grozv best in adobe? In 
this Redwood City I find clay-like soil zvhich looks very dark and heavy. 
What kind of plants will grow best in this soil? 

The term adobe does not mean any particular kind of soil. It 
is applied locally to clay and clay-loam soils indiscriminately. It 
generally signifies the heaviest, stickiest, crackingest soil in the 
vicinity. Most plants will grow well on heavy soils if they are kept 
from getting too dry and too full of water. This is done by using 
plenty of stable manure and other coarse stuff to make the soil more 
friable, which favors aeration, drainage, root extension and plant 
thrift. Friability is also promoted by the use of lime and by good 
tillage. The particular soil to which you refer is a black clay loam 
which can be improved in all the ways stated. It is a good soil for 
most flowers and vegetables if handled as suggested. You can get 
hints of what does best by studying your neighbors' earlier plantings. 

For a Reclaimed Swamp. 

7 have land, formerly a pond zvhich dried up in the summer months. 
It has been thoroughly drained nozv for several years. The land sur- 
rounding it is good fertile soil and produces good crops. On this piece, 
hozvcver, crops come up and look fairly zvell until about two inches high 
zvhen they turn yellow and die. Mesquite grass and strazvberries seem 
to be the only crops that zvill live, and they do not do at all well. Sorrel 
grozvs abundantly in the natural state. 

Apparently the reclaimed land which you speak of needs liming 
to overcome the acidity in the soil. Common builders' lime applied 
at the rate of 1000 pounds to the acre at the beginning of the rainy 
season ought to make the land much more productive and the soil, 
at the same time, more friable. Deep plowing with aeration will 
also help the land, and this treatment can begin at once if the soil 
is workable. Other additions of lime can be made later as they may 
be required to make the improvement permanent. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 151 

Improving Uncovered Subsoil. 

IVhat is the best treatment for spots that have been scraped in level- 
ing for irrigation? 

The land can be improved by plowing deeply and turning in 
stable manure or green alfalfa or any other vegetable matter which 
may decay, rendering the soil rich in humus and more friable. Of 
course, it will take some time to accomplish this improvement, and 
it is necessary that there be moisture enough present to cause the 
material to decay in order that the improvement may be secured. 

Sand for Clay Soils. 

Will beach sand do adobe or clay soil any good? It gets hard at 
times and I thought that if I zvas to put beach sand in the ground the 
salt in the sand would do the ground harm. 

It is certainly desirable to mix sand with heavy soil for the pur- 
pose of making it lighter — that is, better drained and more friable 
and therefore improving it for the growth of plants. Sometimes 
beach sand contains a good deal of salt, which, however, is readily 
removed by fresh water, and sand hauled and exposed to the rains 
rapidly loses any excess of salt it may contain. Probably with such 
an amount of sand as you are likely to use to mix with your adobe, 
there is no danger at all from salt. Even if such sand should con- 
tain considerable salt, if applied at the beginning of the rainy sea- 
son it would be so quickly distributed as to not constitute a menace 
to the growth of plants. The worst adobe can be transformed into a 
most beautiful garden soil by the application of sand and stable 
manure. 

Plowing from or Towards. 

Which is the proper zvay to ploiu an orchard? First to plozv to the 
trees and then to plozv from them, or to plozv from the trees and then to 
them, and your reasons? I have had many arguments zjvith my neighbor 
farmers. 

There is difference of opinion everywhere as to whether the first 
plowing should be toward or away from the trees. In places where 
the soil is pretty heavy and the rainfall is apt to be quite large, 
plowing toward the trees and opening a dead furrow near the center 
seems to promote rapid distribution of surplus water. If the rainfall 
is less and arrangements for deep penetration are more necessary, 
the plowing can well be away from the trees, so as to direct the 
water toward the row. It is, of course, exceedingly important in 
this case, that the land should be worked back before it has a chance 
to dry out by exposure and this is one of the chief objections to 
the practice, because one is apt to let the land lie away from the 
trees, hoping for a late rain which may not come. Whatever the- 
oretical advantages there may be in either of these methods, they 
can only be secured by the greatest care to avoid the dangers which 



152 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

attend them. This uncertainty is the reason why people so gener- 
ally disagree as to which is the best practice, and they are right in 
disagreeing. 

Dry Plowing and Sowing. 

/ dry-plowed my grain field to a depth averaging seven inches; it 
turned up very rough. I then disked and harrowed it, but it is still very 
rough. I intended to drill the seed, wait for sufficient rain, and harrozv 
to a satisfactory condition, but have been advised to put no implement 
on after the drill, as a harrow would spoil the zvork done by the drill, 
and a slab or roller zvould cause the ground to bake. If I wait for rain 
to work the soil before drilling, it will bring the seeding too late. 

You have probably done a pretty good job of dry work. If the 
land is still too rough for the drill, we should broadcast and harrow 
again. It is not desirable to harrow after the drill, and to roll or 
rub is likely to smooth too much, because the land would bake or 
crust after the heavy rains. This would cause loss of moisture and 
it is therefore better to leave the surface a little rough. You can roll 
lightly after the grain is up, if the surface seems to need closing a 
little. 

Artesian Water. 

/ have a large tract of adobe soil, a black clay top soil. For about 
five months in the year there is not sufficient zuater on the place. I have 
sunk wells in different parts, but with very poor results, the further we 
went down the drier and harder the soil got. What little water we did 
obtain zvas unfit for domestic use. Can you give me an idea as to what 
might be the result of an artesian well in such soil? 

Artesian water has nothing to do with the soils. It is a deeper 
proposition than that. Artesian water comes from gravel strata 
overlaid with impervious layers of rock or clay in such a way that 
water in the gravel is under pressure because the gravel leads up 
and away to some point where water is poured into it by rain falling 
or snow melting on mountain or high plateau. As the water cannot 
get out of this gravel until you punch a hole in its lid, its effort 
will be to shoot up to something less than the elevation at which it 
gained entrance to this gravel — as soon as your puncture gives it a 
chance. Geologists who know the locality may be able to tell you 
that you have little or no chance, but no one can tell you whether 
you have a good chance or not until he has tested the matter by 
boring. The quality of the artesian water is determined by its dis- 
tant source and the bad water you have found is therefore no indi- 
cation of the quality of what may be below it. No one should enter 
an artesian undertaking, except to tap a stratum of known depth, 
without a long purse. Probably one in a thousand of the bores 
made into the crust of the earth yields as many gallons of artesian 
water as gallons of various liquids used in boring it — and yet some 
of them are good wells to pump from because they pierce other strata 
carrying water, but not under pressure causing it to rise. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 153 

Treatment of Alkali. 

/ am advised that in some cases alkali may be drained and that in 
others it is treated zvith gypsum. 

Gypsum is not a cure for alkali, but simply a means of trans- 
forming black alkali into white, which is less corrosive and there- 
fore less destructive to plants, but there may be easily too much 
white alkali present — so much that the land would be made sterile 
by it. You cannot remove alkali by flooding unless two conditions 
can be assured: first, that the water itself is free from alkali before 
application to the land; second, that you underdrain the land at a 
depth of from three to four feet with tile, so that the fresh water 
on the surface can flow through the soil into the drains, carrying 
away from the land the alkali, which it dissolves in its course. To 
flood land even with fresh water without making arrangements for 
carrying off the alkali water below, is to increase the alkali on the 
surface as the water evaporates, and such treatment does land in- 
jury rather than benefit. We cannot give you any estimate as to 
the cost of washing out. It depends altogether upon local condi- 
tions: whether you use hand work or machinery for the ditching, 
and what your water will cost. 

Alkali, Gypsum and Shade Trees, 

Kindly advise how to apply gypsum, and hozv much, to heavy, sticky 
soil, the worst sort of adobe and heavily saturated with alkali. We want 
to plant shade trees. Eucalyptus and peppers succeed fairly zvell after 
once started. Gypsum seems to help, but I don't know how much to use. 

The amount of gypsum required to neutralize black alkali de- 
pends upon how much black alkali there is to be neutralized, and 
no definite amount, therefore, can be prescribed beforehand as suf- 
ficient without a determination of the amount of alkali. In some 
experiments gypsum to the amount of thirty tons to the acre or 
more has been used just for the purpose of seeing how much the 
land would take, and a fine growth of grain has been secured after 
using that much gypsum, but that, of course, would be out of the 
question because the outlay would be more than the land or the 
crop would be worth. 

In the planting of trees at some distance apart, the tree can be 
protected from destruction and enabled to make a stand in the soil 
by using gypsum on the spot rather than the treatment of the whole 
surface. In this way five or ten pounds of gypsum could be used 
by mixing with the soil to fill a good-sized hole. 

Distribution of Alkali. 

I am told by all the ranchers on the east and south sides of the valley 
that their wells are excellent. But they all say that on the zvcst side they 
are bringing up alkali. One also said that the zvater level was rising 
throughout all the valley. Is it safe to depend on this in part, or will the 
alkali spread over all the valley and the foothills? 



154 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

It is not unusual to fnul people who predict 'tlie rise of alkali 
almost anywhere except on their own premises. No one can exactly 
tell where alkali will go, because no one has complete knowledge 
of the water movement in underlying strata. Wherever the ground 
water rises on lower levels because of irrigation on higher levels 
there is danger of the rising of the alkali, for which the only cure 
is undcrdrainagc with tile so that this rising water is carried to an 
outflow and not allowed to approach within three or four feet of 
the surface. If you have such an outflow and desire to undertake 
the expense of tiling, you can insure yourself against a serious rise 
of alkali indefinitely. We do not see, however, how alkali can rise 
to the higlier lands of the valley. Its first effect would be to make 
lakes or ponds in the lowest parts of the valley, and even tiien the 
surrounding mesa lands would not be injured. 

Plants Will Tell About Alkali. 

Please give information as to the application of gypsum to my soil 
which is somezi'liat alkaline. I do not care to have an analysis made of 
my soil, and believe that you can advise me zmthout it. 

If your soil is too alkaline for the growth of plants you can 
demonstrate that fact by experiment, or if it is capable of being used 
by the application of gypsum, that also can be determined by ex- 
periment and noting the behavior of the same plants afterwards. 
It is rather a slow process but it is sure enough. 

Litmus and Alkali. 

Is there any simple soil test for alkali that can he made zvithout a 
chemical analysis? 

You can ascertain the presence of alkali by using red litmus 
paper, which will be turned blue by the alkali in the soil, if the soil 
is moist enough. This does not determine the amount of alkali, but 
the quickness of the turning to the blue color and the depth of the 
color are both attained when the alkali is very strong. When there 
is less alkali, the reaction is slower and weaker. This test, however, 
gives you only a rough idea whether the soil is suitable for growing 
plants. You can tell that better by the appearance of the plants 
which you find. Any druggist can furnish the litmus paper, and give 
you a demonstration of how it acts on contact with alkali. 

Using Gypsum for Alkali. 

Is it better, to kill the black alkali in the soil zuith gypsum, just to 
scatter it over an alkalied spot or to plozv the soil first and then ^ise the 
gypsum F I am going to sow alfalfa. 

Use the gypsum after plowing, for it will wet down more 
quickly, and the gypsum has to be dissolved to act freely. The best 
way to cure your spot is to run an underdrain into it, if possible, 
so the rain-water can run ihrough the soil freely and take the alkali 
with it. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 155 

Blasting or Tiling. 

In planting trees zvhcre hardpan is four feet from the surface is it 
necessary to blast the hardpan, or is there no benefit derived by the blast- 
ing ? 

If there should be a good available soil under a shallow layer 
of hardpan, which you say is four feet from the surface, it might 
be of considerable advantage to bore into the hardpan and explode 
a dynamite cartridge in it. But if your good soil is really only four 
feet deep and hardpan continuous below, the blast might cause fis- 
sures which would prevent standing water in the upper stratum. If 
you are sure of four feet of good soil above the hardpan you will 
have no difficulty in growing good trees, if you get the moisture 
just right and the hardpan slopes in such a way that surplus moist- 
ure will move away. If, however, you have hardpan at different 
depths on the tract, so that it may really make basins which will 
hold water, you are likely to have trouble from accumulations of 
water which will not only prevent the roots extending to the full 
depths of the soil, but will also cause some trees to die. Such a 
danger could be removed by draining the soil to a depth of three 
and a half or four feet with tile, in order to prevent accumulations 
at any point. This would be expensive perhaps, but you would be 
sure that you had rendered your four feet of soil safe and available. 
If you trust to blasting you will have to wait several years for the 
trees to tell you whether you helped them or not. 

Effects of Blasting. 

/ have land which is underlaid with hardpan tzvo or three feet deep 
and this in turn is underlaid zvith sand or sandpan. What I would like 
to knozv is zvhether blasting the holes before setting trees would allozv 
more moisture coming from this sandpan, or, rather, zvhat effect it zvould 
have as to moisture. 

We do not know. It might make the soil better for the trees 
by allowing escape for surplus water through previous layers. It 
might allow the tree to root more deeply for moisture in those strata. 
It might allow water to rise from such strata if they have water 
under pressure. It might do other things good or bad, according to 
conditions prevailing under the hardpan. If you are to irrigate the 
land the effects would probably be good. 

The Sub-soil Plow. 

/ am contemplating using a sub-soil plow for the purpose of breaking 
plozu-sole on grain land. This is about AYi inches belozv the surface and 
is about 5 inches thick. This soil is comparatively loose and seems to 
be of good quality. Do you think that the sub-soil plow run lozv enough 
to break this plow-sole zvill benefit the land? 

There can be no question about the benefit of breaking up this 
tight stratum, provided you use a long-tooth harrow or a subsoil 



156 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

packer afterward to reduce the land so that it will not be too open 
to loss of moisture by too free circulation of air. The best way 
to treat such a soil would be to use a tractor and plow to a full 
foot of depth, for this, followed by good harrowing, would disin- 
tegrate the hard stuff and commingle it with the loose surface soil 
and make it somewhat more retentive — doing this when the moist- 
ure is just right for disintegration and mixing. If you are not ready 
to go to this expense, a subsoiler, following the plow with another 
team, would put your land in better shape for dry farming or for 
irrigation than it is now. Starting late, however, might give you 
less crop the first year on such deep working than by shallow plow- 
ing if the year's rainfall should be scant. It would, however, be a 
good start for summer-fallowing and a big crop the next year. 

Sour Soil. 

What is "sour" soil? Is that the name by which it is commonly 
knoivn, and what is the treatment for it? 

Sour soil is soil in which an acid is developed by plant decay 
and exclusion of air. The proper treatment is the application of 
lime, and aeration by open tillage and underdrainage. 

Old Plaster for Sour Land. 

Can house plaster be used in reclaiming sour ground and hoiv much 
per acre? The ground produces some sour grass — not a great deal. The 
plaster is from an old building that is being torn down. 

House plaster is desirable as an application to land which is 
sour. It also adds to the mellowness of land which is hard, because 
of the sand contained in it. It has always been considered a good 
dressing for garden land. So far as the correction of sourness goes, 
it is much less active than fresh lime, but it acts in the same way 
to a limited extent. It is certainly worth using, providing it does 
not cost too much for delivery, and can be freely used if the land 
is heavy and needs friability. 

Application of Manure Ashes. 

Having recently got a lot of manure plentifully supplied zvitli red- 
wood shavings that had been used with the bedding, and being afraid 
to use the same in that shape, as it takes such a long time for the wood 
to rot, I reduced the pile to a heap of ashes. How can it be best applied 
to ornamental trees and shrubbery in a light gravelly soil? 

You have done unwisely in burning the manure. We would 
have taken the risk of a single use of shavings for the sake of the 
manurial matter associated with them, and this risk of too much 
lightening of a gravelly soil would be especially small in connection 
with deep rooting plants like ornamental trees and shrubbery. You 
have left merely the skeleton of the manure, and much of that of 
doubtful solubility, if the temperature ran very high by burning in 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 157 

a mass. You need not be fearful about using these ashes. Scatter 
or spread them over the ground just as you would have spread the 
manure, let the rains dissolve and carry down what they can and 
go on with your usual methods of cultivation. 

The Best Fertilizer for Sand. 

Hozv can I best fertilize soil that is pure sand? 

The best fertilizer for pure sand is well-rotted stable manure, 
because it not only supplies all kinds of plant food, but increases 
the humus in the soil, which is exceedingly important in making the 
sand more retentive of moisture as well as more productive. 

Fertilizers in Tree Holes. 

Would it be harmful to add 2 or 3 pounds of steamed bone meal to 
the hole of a young tree just before planting? 

There would be no injury, providing you mix it with a consider- 
able amount of soil by digging over the bottom of the hole, but our 
conviction is that on lands which are good enough for the commer- 
cial planting of fruit trees, it is not necessary to stimulate a young 
tree in this way, but that it is better to postpone the use of fer- 
tilizers until the trees come into bearing and show the desirability 
of more liberal feeding. Of course, if young trees do not make 
satisfactory growth, they may be stimulated either with some kind 
of a fertilizer or with a freer use of water, and it is generally the 
latter that they are chiefly in need of. 

Wood Ashes and Tomatoes. 

Is there any harm to vegetable grozving to dig sufficient of zvood 
ashes in for mellozjuing heavy soil? My tomato plants grezv splendidly 
this year, but the fruits zvere all rough and zvrinkled. I gave them plenty 
of horse and poultry manure at planting and plenty of zvood ashes and 
falling leaves of cypress later. 

Wood ashes do not mellow a heavy soil. The effect of the 
potash is to overcome the granular structure and increase compact- 
ness. Coal ashes, because they are coarser in particles and devoid 
of potash, do promote mellowness, and are valuable mechanically 
on a heavy soil although they do not contain appreciable amounts 
of plant food. You are overfeeding your tomato plants, probably. 
The chances are that you had poor seed. There is no best tomato, 
because you ought to grow early and late kinds: there is also some 
difference in the behavior of varieties in different places. 

Was It the Potash or the Water? 

Last year the lye from the prune dipper zvas turned on the ground 
near tzvo almond trees zvhich seemed to be dying, and to my surprise 
they have taken a nezv lease of life. Hence my conclusion that potash 
zvas good for our soil. 



158 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Your experience seems to justify the application of potash, surely, 
but the question still remains, how much good the potash did the 
trees, and how much they needed the extra water which the waste 
dips supplied. It would be desirable for you to make another ex- 
periment with other trees, applying wood ashes, if you have them, 
or about four pounds per tree of the potash which you use for dip- 
ping, scattering well and working it into the soil after it is moist- 
ened by the rains, and not using any more water than the trees 
ordinarily received from rainfall. After this trial you will be in a 
position to know whether your trees need potash or irrigation — by 
comparing with other trees adjacent. Besides are you sure that 
your lye dip was caustic potash and not caustic soda? The latter 
has no fertilizing value. 

Prunings as Fertilizer. 

Is orchard and vineyard brush worth enough as a fertilizer to pay 
for cutting or breaking and puttittg back on the land? 

We should say not. It takes too much labor to put it in any 
form to promote decay, and is even then too indestructible. It is 
also possible that its decay may induce root rot of trees. We should 
burn the stuff and spread the ashes. Vineyard .prunings are more 
promising because more easily and quickly reduced by decay. Vine- 
cane-hashers have been proposed from time to time, but we do not 
know anyone who long used them. 

Gypsum on Grain Land. 

Is there any profit in solving gypsum on grain land, say on zuheat or 
oat crop? At zvhat stage should it be applied and in what quantity? 

It would have a tendency to make the surface more friable and 
therefore better for moisture retention, and it could be used at the 
rate of lOOO pounds to the acre, broadcasted before plowing for 
grain. As our soils are, however, usually well supplied with lime, 
there is a question whether there would be any profit in the use of 
gypsum, for, aside from lime, it contains no plant food, although 
it does act rather energetically upon other coil contents. Gypsum 
is a tonic and not a fertilizer from that point of view. The best 
way to satisfy yourself of its efifect would be to try a small area, 
marked so as you could note its behavior as compared with the rest 
of the field. 

Gypsum and Alfalfa. 

What is gypsum composed of? Is it detrimental to land in future 
years? Have the lands of California any black alkali in tlicin? I notice 
my neighbors zvho sow gypsum on their alfalfa get a very much better 
yield of hay than those who do not. 

Gypsum is sulphate of lime. It is not detrimental to the land 
in after years except that its action is to render immediately avail- 
able other plant foods and this may render the land poorer — not by 



SoiLSj Fertilizers and Irrigation 159 

the addition of anything that is injurious but by the quicker using 
up of plant food which it already contains. Black alkali is very 
common in California in alkali lands. In lands which show their 
quality by good cropping, there is no reason to apprehend black 
alkali nor to use gypsum to prevent its occurrence. The use of 
gypsum does stimulate the growth of alfalfa and makes its product 
greater just as you observe in the experience of your neighbors, 
but the more they use up the land now the less they will have later, 
unless they resort to regular fertilization to restore what has been 
exhausted. But even that may be a good business proposition. 

What Gypsum Does. 

I intend to fertilize alfalfa and should like to knozv about gypsum. I 
have heard it stimulates the groivth temporarily but in three or four 
years hurts the land. I have heavy land. 

The functions of gypsum are: (a) to supply lime when the soil 
lacks it; (b) to make a heavy soil more mellow, and (c) to act upon 
other soil substances to render them more available for plant food. 
These are some of the soil aspects of gypsum; it may have plant 
aspects also. It is too much to say that gypsum hurts the land; 
it does, however, help the plant to more quickly exhaust its fertility, 
and in this respect is not like the direct plant foods which comprise 
the true fertilizers — one of which gypsum is not. It might be best 
for your pocketbook and for the mechanical condition of the soil to 
use it, but do not think that it is maintaining the fertility of the 
land (a service which we expect from the true fertilizers) except as 
it may supply a possible deficiency of lime. 

How Much Gypsum? 

How much per acre, hozv frequently and zvhat seasons of the year 
are the best time to apply gypsum? 

Of gypsum on alkali, we should begin at the rate of one ton 
to the acre and repeat the application as frequently as necessary to 
achieve the desired result. If the alkali was quite strong we would 
use twice as much. Without reference to an alkaline condition in 
the soil, and to give heavy soil a more friable character, which pro- 
motes cultivation, aeration, etc., and, therefore, ministers to rnore 
successful production, half a ton to the acre can be used, applications 
to be repeated as conditions seem to warrant it. 

Wood Ashes in the Garden. 

There is available in my neighborhood a free supply of wood ashes. 
Can you tell me how best to distribute the same in a garden (Howers and 
garden truck), and zvhat, if any, treatment is to be given the ashes for 
the best results. 

Wood ashes long exposed to rain lose most of their valuable 
contents, and leached ashes are only of small value. If they are 



160 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

fresh ashes or ashes which have been kept dry, they are chiefly 
valuable for potash, which is good in its way, but not all that a 
plant needs. If, however, your soil is shy of potash, the use of 
ashes will notably improve growth if not applied in excess in the 
caustic form in which it occurs in the ashes. They require no 
treatment. Spread, say, a quarter of an inch thickness all over the 
ground and dig in deeply. It may also help you by destruction of 
wire worms and other ground pests. 

Coal Ashes in the Garden. 

What is the effect of coal ashes on the red clay soil of Rcdlands or 
wood and coal ashes combined? 

Coal ashes are exceedingly desirable upon clay land because 
their mechanical mixture with the fine particles of the clay renders 
the soil more friable, permeable and better adapted to the growth 
of most plants. Coal ashes, however, possess no fertilizing value — 
their action is merely mechanical. The wood ashes which may be 
combined with them are desirable as a source of potash which most 
plants require. 

Liming a Chicken Yard. 

/ have a small family orchard of half an acre, fenced in as a chicken 
yard, the soil of which has become very foul. When would be the 
best time to apply lime and how much? 

Put on 500 pounds of lime and plow under as soon as you can 
— that is, spread the lime just before the plowing, with a shower or 
two on the lime before plowing, if the weather runs that way. 

Poultry Manure. 

Give directions for using chicken manure. For use of young trees, 
is there any difference in treatment of deciduous and citrus trees? For 
use in the vegetable garden and the Uower garden, what should be mixed 
with it and in what proportions? So many people say poultry manure 
is so strong, I am afraid to use it. 

It is a fact that poultry manure, free from earth, contains even 
as high as four times as much plant food as ordinary stable manure. 
It is, therefore, to be used with proportional care, so that the plants 
shall not receive too much, and particularly so that there may not 
be too much collected in one place. Probably the best way to guard 
against this is to thoroughly mix the manure with three or four 
times its bulk of ordinary garden soil and then use this mixture at 
about the same rate you would stable manure. If you do not desire 
to go to all this trouble, make an even scattering of the manure and 
work it into the soil. There is no reason to fear the material; 
simply guard against the unwise use of it. It is good for all the 
plants which you mention; in fact, for any plant grown, provided it 
is sparingly and evenly distributed. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 161 

It should be pulverized so that there shall not be lumps and 
masses in the same place for fear of root injury. Of course, the 
strength depends upon how much earth is gathered up with the 
manure. Sometimes there is so much waste material that it can be 
handled just as ordinary farm manure is. 

We should not use over 20 pounds of clean droppings to a 
young tree and should mix it with the soil for a considerable dis- 
tance around the tree. Old bearing trees might stand two or three 
tons to the acre if distributed all over the ground. The material 
contains everything that is necessary for the growth of the tree 
and formation of the fruit. 

Ashes and Poultry Manure. 

It is said that ashes mixed 7vith chicken manure is not good. I use 
ashes altogether on the drop boards because I can keep the boards cleaner. 
The refuse is then scattered around the fruit trees. 

Wood ashes and lime should never be used as you propose, 
because they set free the nitrogen compounds which are the most 
valuable content of poultry manures. This action is conditioned 
largely upon the presence of moisture, and if the droppings are kept 
dry and hurried into the soil the loss is lessened. Coal ashes, on 
the other hand, are a thoroughly good absorbent when the coal 
burns to a fine ash or is sifted. They do not act as wood ashes do, 
because they do not contain soluble alkali. They also have a good 
mellowing effect on heavy soil. 

Caustic Lime Not a Good Absorbent. 

Would air-slackened lime be suitable to sprinkle over the dropping 
boards in hen houses? 

Gypsum is greatly superior to air-slacked lime for the hen houses, 
as it has every beneficial effect of the latter, while the air-slacked 
lime will set free much of the fertilizing value of the manure, which 
the gypsum will not do. 

Too Much Chicken Manure for Young Trees. 

I have peach trees and apple trees, 3 to 6 years old, that are very 
thrifty but groiv only ivood. The soil was poor when planting, and I 
have put on plenty of sweepings from the chicken-yards. I suppose that 
is the cause of the trouble. 

Undoubtedly you have overmanured your soil with chicken 
manure, which is a very strong fertilizer and should only be used in 
limited quantities. In order to counteract any acidity or ill effects 
which have been produced by its excessive application, it would be 
desirable for you to apply about 500 to 1000 pounds per acre of 
common builders' lime at the beginning of the rainy season, working 
it into the soil with the fall or early winter plowing. Do not cut 
back the tree during the dormant season, although, of course, you 



162 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

may have to remove surplus or interfering branches for the sake 
of shaping the tree. Winter pruning induces a greater wood growth 
during the following summer; therefore, it should be avoided under 
such conditions as you describe. Having adopted such a policy, there 
is nothing for you to do but to wait for the trees to slow down and 
assume a normal bearing habit proper for their ages. Summer 
pruning is an offset for excessive wood growth. 

Suburban Wastes. 

We keep a cozv and poultry and have a dry-earth toilet. We have 
been burying the manure in the little garden spot or along by the fences 
or spreading it out on the alfalfa before it is rotted, but do not get good 
results. Hozu sliall we apply it to get the best results? We have a town 
ordinance against leaving it in piles to rot. 

You can compost it in a tight bin made of planks, and using 
enough water to prevent too rapid fermentation and loss of valuable 
ingredients. During the dry season you can probably use enough 
dry earth or road dust to render the material inoffensive, and you 
can also distribute it then without undesirable results. 

Composting Garden Wastes. 

You recommend making a compost of all scrapings, garbage, zveeds, 
etc. Is there any danger in having this in a pit near the house f 

If you desire to put garden wastes, including manure, into a 
pit, the only objection would be the heavy work of digging it out 
again. If you allow waste water from the house to run into the pit, 
there would probably be not enough dry material to absorb it, and 
the pit would be not only objectionable on account of odors, but 
possibly dangerous to health. The water would also prevent de- 
composition, because of exclusion of air. At the same time, enough 
moisture to promote slow decomposition is essential. It is usually 
more convenient to compost garden wastes on the surface of the 
ground, enclosing them with a plank retainer, because moisture can 
easily be applied with a hose, as desirable, the material can be oc- 
casionally forked over to promote decay, and the heavy work of 
digging material out of a pit is avoided. Such a collection is neither 
ofifensive nor dangerous if handled right. 

Composting Manure. 

Will the dry barnyard manure, zvhcn heaped up and dampened zvith 
water, make a valuable fertilizer? 

For garden use, dry manure in heaps should be dampened with 
water from time to time so as to prevent too active fermentation. 
Of course, water should not be supplied so freely as to cause a 
leaching of the pile. It is also desirable that the material should be 
forked over from time to time to distribute moisture and promote 
decay. When this is done a thoroughly first-class fertilizer is pro- 
duced. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 163 

Barnyard Manure and Alkali. 

In spots my land is hard and has some black alkali. Will barnyard 
manure help the hard land if cultivated in? 

Use stable manure because that would not only furnish nitrogen, 
if your plants need any more, but it would add coarse material and 
ultimately humus which would overcome the tendency of your soil 
to becorne compact and thus concentrate alkali near the surface by 
evaporation. Mellow the soil, increase the humus, make water move- 
ment freer and good cultivation easier and alkali will become weaker 
by distribution through a greater mass of the soil and may be too 
weak at any point to be troublesome, unless you have too much to 
start with. Put on manure at the beginning of the rainy season and 
plow it under, with all the green stuff which grows upon it, during 
the winter or early spring. 

Stable Manure and Bean Straw. 

What are the approximate contents of common stable manure; also, 
hoiv much of the above is contained in bean straw? 

The composition of mixed stable manure is given as containing 
in one ton: Nitrogen, 10 pounds; phosphoric acid, 5 pounds; potash, 
10 pounds. The constituents of bean straw in one ton, are given as: 
Nitrogen, 28 pounds ; phosphoric acid, 6 pounds ; potash, 38 pounds ; 
Of course, a large part of the difference in composition is due to the 
excessive amount of moisture which ordinary stable manure contains. 
Air dried stable manure, such as is found in a California corral, 
would have much higher fertilizing value than such moist manure 
as an Eastern chemist would be likely to handle. 

Roofing a Manure Pit. 

Is it necessary to roof a manure pit, if the pit is tight so that all 
rain on manure is caught in the liquid manure and nothing is lost? 

To secure satisfactory composting of stable manures in a pit 
it is necessary to be able to regulate the moisture of the mass. 
If it becomes too dry, too rapid fermentation takes place and the 
material is destroyed by what is called fire-fanging. If too much 
liquid enters the pit, so that the material is submerged, the air is 
excluded and fermentation stops. For these reasons it is necessary 
that a pit in the region of large rainfall be covered, and water be 
used from a hose or other source of supply in just sufficient quantity 
to keep the material right for slow fermentation. How much water 
should be added to bring the moisture to a right condition depends 
upon how much liquid waste runs into the pit, and where water is 
used for cleaning a stable care has to be taken that the pit is not 
submerged. Success with a pit is, therefore, conditioned on the 
amount of moisture admitted, and this cannot be controlled unless 
the pit has a cover fit to shed rainfall. Of course, it may be ad- 
justable so that some rainfall may be admitted as may be desirable. 



164 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Value of Animals in Manure. 

In the operation of our fruit and dairy ranch 7vc have the manure 
from some forty head of horses and cattle, which is distributed over the 
place. We cut our alfalfa and feed it and do very little pasturing. In 
order to give our dairy the proper credit, ive would kindly ask what 
you consider a fair price for the manure of a cow for one year. Also 
luhat ivould the manure from a horse for one year be worth? 

A compilation of a considerable number of weighings, analyses 
and valuations in Europe, cited by Prof. Roberts in his book on the 
"Fertility of the Land," gives an average value of the voidings of 
a cow for a year as $32.25 and of a horse at $24.06. This is based, 
of course, upon the collection and saving of all excrements which is 
never secured except in careful experimentation. The value of 
manure depends upon the quality of the feed. In two experiments, 
sidered a safe substitute for the straw, apart from the fact that the 
gave a value in manure of $1 per ton of hay fed; cows fed on clover 
and bran gave value in manure of 3.80 per ton of mixed feed. 
Your alfalfa feeding would approach the higher value. You will 
have to make an estimate from the above data to serve your purpose 
and you can figure it either by the number of animals or by the 
tonnage of the feed. 

Value of Fresh and Dry Manure. 

What is the relative value of the iveekly or semi-zveekly corral 
scrapings zvhich are tramped fine and air-dried; and of the fresh, ivet 
manure from the stable? I do not understand that the latter has ap- 
preciable water added, and the amount of sand in the corral scrapings 
would be small. 

Fresh, mixed animal manure is usually calculated to contain 
about 75 per cent of water. Manure which has been quickly dried, 
without fermentation and without leaching by rains, may be worth 
four or five times as much per ton. Nothing, however, short of 
analysis would determine the value of any particular lot, for that 
depends somewhat upon the way the animals are fed, as well as 
upon the moisture content. 

Shavings in Stable Manure. 

Is barnyard fertiliser containing shavings instead of straw, desirable? 

Barnyard manure containing shavings is chiefly objectionable 
because of the amount of inert material. The shavings are exceed- 
ingly slow to decompose, and in light soil in considerable quantities 
would cause a serious loss of moisture. If applied, on the other 
hand, to a heavy soil and accompanied by sufficient irrigation water, 
the effect of making the soil more friable might be very desirable. 
It depends then upon circumstances whether shavings can be con- 
citcd by Prof. Snyder in his "Soils and Fertilizers," cows fed on hay 
straw is more valuable not only because more easily decomposed, 
but because its content of plant food is greater. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 165 

Handling Grape Pomace. 

In the case of grape pomace, zvould not the large value shozvn by 
analysis be chiefly in the seeds? My observation is that these are exceed- 
ingly slow to become available in the soil. Would composting break 
dozvn the shell of the seed? 

Grape pomace is slowly available because of tbe slow disinte- 
gration you mention. It could be hastened by drying and grinding, 
but we doubt if this or other treatment would return its cost. Decay 
by moisture promoted by composting with manure, kept at a low 
temperature by continuous moisture would render it sooner avail- 
able, but this would involve labor which, at our wage rates, would 
probably make the material cost more than it is worth. This is 
probably a cost in which time is cheaper than money. 

Sheep and Goat Manure. 

/ can buy goat manure from an inclosure where this is deposited to 
an amount of about Ave carloads. Will goat manure be of great value 
in fertilizing an orchard? If so, hozv much of it should be spread on an 
acre? 

Accumulations of sheep and goat manare in a dry situation, that 
is, where not leached out by heavy rainfall, have been found to run 
as high as $13 per ton in fertilizing constituents. The average 
would, however, be not above $7.50, and would depend not only upon 
the unleached condition of the material but upon the amount of sand 
mixed with it. If it is in a situation where sand blows very freely, 
it might not be worth over $4 or $5 per ton, possibly not that much. 
You have, therefore, to deal with a condition largely unknown. So 
far as its fertilizing quality goes, however, it is freely available and 
directly calculated to stimulate the growth of plants, and probably 
four or five tons could be used to the acre without injury if well 
distributed over the surface of the land. Application can be made at 
any time of the year, for the drying will not injure it. It will not, 
however, become available until the soil is sufficiently moist to carry 
its contents to the roots of the plants. Under ordinary conditions 
in California, application should be made just before the beginning 
of the rainy season. 

Hog Manure and Potatoes. 

What is the fertilising value of hog manure, and also zvhat is the 
best fertiliser to use for potatoes? Our potatoes are planted early iti 
January. 

Hog manure is rather a rank and strong fertilizer, usually very 
rich, although the quality of it depends upon how well the hogs have 
been fed — that from grain-fed hogs being notably better. The valua- 
tion of hog manure ranges from $2.50 to $3.25 per ton, according to 
the feeding as noted, while ordinary stable manure may be worth from 
$2 to $2.75 per ton. It is not a good idea to apply these organic 
manures directly for the growth of potatoes. It is better to apply 



166 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

them to the land for the growth of a grain or forage crop, plowing 
in the stubble and using the land for potatoes the following year. 
If you wish to fertilize directly for potatoes, the use of a commercial 
fertilizer containing a good amount of potash would be a better 
proposition. 

Fertilizer for Sweet Potatoes and Melons. 

/ have sandy soil that lias been used for siveet {potatoes until it is 
worn out for that crop, and would like your advice as to the best fertiliser 
to use. Also, what fertiliser would be best for melons on land that has 
been planted to melons for the past three years? 

There is not much difference in the plant food required by the 
two crops you mention, but both evidently need a fresliened soil 
and an increase of humus. We should apply a half ton to the acre 
of a comi)lete fertilizer, of which any dealer can give you descriptions 
and prices. If you wish to do a good job, start a growth of peas or 
vetches or burr clover, and sow the fertilizer evenly with the seed. 
Plow the growth under in February and roll (as the soil is sandy) 
to close down and promote the decay of the green stufif, which 
ought to be so well accomplished by the date that it is safe to 
plant sweet potatoes or melons that it will give no trouble in 
summer cultivation. 

An Abuse of Grape Pomace. 

/ got in an argument zvith a neighbor of mine ivho stated that grape 
pomace is not a fertiliser. Is it so? My neighbor says that ttvo years 
ago he had tivo apricot trees in his yard, and they ivere fine bearing and 
healthy trees. After' making his zvine he put the pomace on the ground 
and they died. Could that be the cause? 

Yes, probably. He used too much fresh pomace and the re- 
sulting fermentation of its products may have killed the trees. But 
grape promace, after going through fermentation and in the process 
of decay, makes humus in addition to giving potash and other desir- 
able substances to the soil. 

Manuring Vineyard. 

Does barnyard manure have any injurious effect on the znnes if 
applied on my vineyard? One of my neighbors claims barnyard manure 
burned his vines so he got no crop wherever he spread the manure, and 
notlii)ig zvould now, induce him to use it again. 

Barnyard manure can be safely used in a vineyard at the be- 
ginning of the rainy season, working it in with the plowing, but 
not using too much. Wine- grapes are sometimes injuriously af- 
fected in flavor by the use of such fertilizer, but the growth of 
the vine itself can be stimulated by the rational use of it. Your 
neighbor apparently either used too much or made the application 
at the beginning of the dry season or made some other mistake. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 167 

Bones for Grape Vines. 

/ am going to plant out some grape vines, and would like to knoiv 
if it is a good plan to put old bones, broken up Ane, into the holes 
when planting. 

Yes, if you do not use too much and it is mixed with earth, 
a little beyond the touch of the roots at planting. You do not 
need to finely break the bones. The roots will take care of that. 
But do not put in too much coarse stufif, for fear of causing too 
rapid drainage. 

Reviving Blighted Trees. 

/ have a couple of apple trees here that zvere hurt by the pear blight 
three years ago and zvere cut back since then; they come out each year, 
but the leaves curl up, and they do not do anything. I would like to know 
if putting any fertilizer around them would help them to put out their 
leaves, and if so what I should use? 

Put some stable manure on the top of the soil around your trees 
now so that the rains may reach the contents of the soil, then later 
in the season dig the manure into the soil. Apply water during the 
summer time and this will encourage the trees to grow, if there is 
any vigor remaining in them. This treatment, however, will not 
protect them from the blight. 

Fertilizing Pear Orchard. 

/ have pear trees 15 years old which have fruited heavily for years 
and have never been fertilised. What is the best fertiliser for the soil 
which is heavy, and when is the best time to apply it? I intend planting 
rye to plow under in the spring, but thought possibly the fertiliser should 
be applied first. 

If you have stable manure available, nothing could be better 
for the feeding of the trees and for its mellowing effect upon your 
heavy soil. Application can be made at once, to be worked into 
the land when the rye is sown. It will help the trees and give you 
more rye which in the end will help the trees. If you have no stable 
manure available, what is called by the dealers a "complete fer- 
tilizer" for orchard purposes is what you should use and apply it 
when you work the land for rye. 

Fertilizing Olives. 

What is the best means of fertilizing an olive orchard? My orchard 
gives me a perfect quality of oil, but a poor quantity. My soil is dry 
calcareous, red and gray, and is very thin in places, therefore, it lacks 
moisture. 

An olive orchard can be fertilized with stable manure or with 
a "complete fertilizer," or with the special brands of different manu- 
facturers of special fruit fertilizers. But you must be sure that 
your trees do not need moisture more than they need fertilizers, for 



168 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

without adequate moisture fertilizers cannot do their best work. 
The increase of the humus content of the soil, either secured by 
stable manure or by the plowing under of winter-grown cover crops, 
is desirable, as they not only give the trees more plant food, but 
make the soil also more retentive of moisture. You will have to 
experiment along this line to see just what is best for your trees. 

Consult the Trees. 

Can I send you a little soil out of my one-year-old pear orchard so 
that you can advise me zvhat I can do to improve its fertility. The trees 
are fairly thrifty, hut as fruit groiving is my pleasure I wish to make it 
a model orchard and add whatever it requires of nitrogen, humus, etc., 
immediately so as to increase the growth for this summer. Next zvinter 
I intend to put manure around them and cultivate about every other 
month. 

Careful experimenting with fertilizers will teach you more than 
analysis would do, because the behavior of the tree under various 
conditions tells you more than a chemist possibly could. Besides, 
we are of the conviction that on good soils young fruit trees should 
not be pushed beyond the growth which they would naturally make 
with a regular and adequate moisture supply. Be careful about using 
fertilizers on young trees, either in the summer or in the winter. 
When they come to bearing age and yield large crops of fruit, that 
is another question. Any California soil which will not grow young 
fruit trees thriftily should not be used for orchard purposes unless 
an amateur desires to grow trees on a picturesque lot of rocks or 
sand. 

Results of Fertilizing Olives. 

We have lOO acres in olives about six miles northeast of Rialto in 
San Bernardino county. In 1908 zve got about five tons from the 100 
acres. We began fertilizing and cultivating in 1909, and have put on the 
100 acres about the same amount of fertiliser each year. In 1909 zve 
got i\5 tons; in 1910, ii\5 tons, and 1911 is estimated at 32^5 to 350 tons. 

It is important that your olive trees are responding to good 
treatment and fertilization. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be 
always the case and a good many olive trees have been made into 
firewood because nothing seemed to bring them into satisfactory 
bearing. Good bearing olive trees are now among the very best of 
our horticultural properties, while non-bearing olive trees are worth 
about $7 a cord for fire wood. 

Nursery Fertilizers. 

/ have light sandy loam, zvell drained. It has been in blackberries, 
and I nozv have it planted to nursery fruit tree stock. I have given it 
this spring tzvo applications of nitrate of soda, but no other fertiliser. 
Will the nitrate act alone, or must I apply also the phosphate and potash 
to get results? 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 169 

Nitrate of soda will act alone and will stimulate growth, and 
there are cases in which there is enough phosphate and potash 
already in the soil to act with it. Usually, however, it is customary 
to use a complete fertilizer containing phosphate and potash as well 
as nitrogen, in order that the plant may be more roundly supplied 
and promoted, and one would be a little safer in using that sort of 
fertilizer than in relying upon the nitrate of soda alone. You will, 
of course, be careful not to use these fertilizers in too large amounts, 
for nitrate of soda is especially dangerous if used in excess. 

Almond Hulls and Sawdust. 

Is there any fertilising value in the hulls of almonds? Would pine 
sawdust from the lumber mills be a good substance to mix in and plow 
under in a three-acre adobe patch in order to loosen and lighten the 
soil for truck gardening? 

Almond hulls have considerable fertilizing value, but they are 
slow to decompose, and, therefore, may be a long time unused by 
the plant. They also have a good feeding value for stock, and if 
you can expose them in the corral so the stock can eat as they like, 
this is the best way to get them into fertilizing form. If they can 
be cheaply ground their availability as a fertilizer would, of course, 
be quickened. Redwood sawdust is better than pine sawdust, but 
any kind of sawdust can be made to serve a good purpose in mellow- 
ing heavy soils if not used to excess and if there is plenty of moisture 
to promote decay. 

Fertilizing Fruit Trees. 

/ have an orchard of prunes, apricots and cherries, which has been 
bearing since some 30 years ago, zvithout fertilisation, except possibly 
muddy sediment from occasional irrigations of mountain streams. Various 
people are advocating the use of nitrates and other fertilisers. Should 
I have samples of this earth analysed in order to ascertain what the 
soil most needs? 

To find out whether your trees need fertilization, study the tree 
and the product and do not depend upon chemical analysis of the 
soil. If your trees are growing thriftily and have sufficiently good- 
sized leaves of good color, and if fruit of good size and quality is 
obtained, it is not necesssary to think of fertilization. If the trees 
are not satisfactory in all these respects, the first thing to do is to 
determine whether they have moisture enough during the later part 
of the summer. This should be determined by digging or boring 
to a depth or three or four feet in July or August. The subsoil 
should be reasonably moist in order to sustain the tree during the 
late summer and early fall when strong fruit buds for the coming 
year will be finished. If you are sure the moisture supply is ample, 
then fertilization either with stable manure or with commercial fer- 
tilizers containing especially nitrates and phosphates should be under- 
taken experimentally, in accordance with suggestions for application 
made to you by dealers in these articles, who are usually well in- 



170 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

formed by observation. When you have the tree to advise you of 
the condition of the soil, you do not need a chemist, although if the 
tree manifests serious distress and is unable to make satisfactory 
growth the suggestions of a chemist may be very helpful. 

Fertilizing Oranges. 

What is the general and what do you consider the ideal, manuring, 
and wlien applied for orange trees from 15 to 12 years old under irri- 
gation? I use about 2 cwt. each of superphosphate, nitrate of soda and 
sulphate of potash per acre, but am dissatisfied zvith my yields as com- 
pared zvith yours in California. 

There is not only no standard for fertilizing orange trees, but 
there is no "ideal" which might be considered as a basis for a stand- 
ard. All growers who are awake to the necessity of doing something 
for bearing trees, try all things and hold fast to what (they think) 
is good. Practically none of them has any enduring conviction or 
demonstration as to what is good, but they keep on trying. There is, 
however, one clear and enduring conviction, and that is, that con- 
tinuous fertilizing must be done for profit, and our best growers are 
using the same materials you mention in considerably larger amounts 
than you apply, and use also other forms of nitrogenous fertilizers. 
The amounts of superphosphate and nitrate which you use would be 
considered homeopathic treatment by our growers. 

Cow Stable Drainage for Fruit. 

/ haz'e been told that the drainings from a cow bam make an ex- 
cellent fertilizer for orange and lemon trees, in fact, anywhere on plants 
zvhere manure is considered beneficial. 

The drainage from a cow barn is excellent for fertilizing almost 
any crop unless it is used in too large quantity. If it should be 
combined with a considerable amount of water used for cleaning out 
the stable, it would be excellent for the irrigation of all kinds of fruit 
trees. Care should be taken, however, not to oversaturate the ground, 
which would be the case if the washing of the stable was allowed to 
run continuously alongside a single row of trees. The water should 
be changed from row to row in succession, cultivating the ground 
meantime to promote aeration and to prevent too great compacting 
of the soil. 

Seed Farm Refuse as a Fertilizer. 

Would cleanings from szveet peas or all kinds of seeds grozvn on a 
seed farm be of any value as a fertiliser on sandy loam soil for an 
orchard? This has been in a pile for three years or more, and I can 
get it for the hauling. There are a hundred loads or more of it and 
not very far to haul. 

It would be worth more on a heavy soil, because the danger of 
drying out would be less and the surety of reduction to humus 
greater. To get the highest value from such stuff it should be com- 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 171 

posted with water and turning in heaps, but that would occasion 
expense beyond value probably, unless it could be composted with 
manure for market garden purposes. The hauling might be good 
work for idle teams. Spread the stuff rather thinly to be covered 
in with fall plowing, so that its decay could be promoted during the 
rainy season. 

Slow Stuff as a Fertilizer. 

How can zve use sawdust and shavings from our high school shop 
so as to combine it with street sweepings, lawn cuttings, etc., and insure 
ready decay zvithout objectionable features? 

Do not mix sawdust and shavings with lawn clippings and street 
sweepings, because of the great difference in susceptibility to decay. 
The lawn clippings and street sweepings, which would contain con- 
siderable horse manure, would be readily transformed into a good 
fertilizer by composting. Such treatment, however, would have no 
appreciable effect upon sawdust or shavings for a considerable period 
of time, and they would still be too coarse in their character to be 
of any value unless you have to deal with heavy clay soil, and in that 
case the sawdust and fine shavings might be dug in at once and 
trusted to decay slowly in the soil, at the same time improving its 
friability by their coarser particles. If, however, you are dealing with 
light sandy loam, such coarse material would cause too rapid drying 
out and injure the plant, which might be benefited by lawn clippings 
and street sweepings. The best way to get rid of the sawdust and 
shavings is to set up an altar, such as we have in our own backyard — 
a piece of an old boiler about two feet in diameter and two and a 
half feet high, in which we currently burn all rubbish which is not 
available for quick composting into a fertilizer. 

Lime on Sandy Soil. 

Do you think 500 pounds of lime per acre would help a sandy soil 
which has not been enriched by pasturing or legumes? Of course, zve 
would not apply the lime until next fall before plowing. 

Lime is not usually called for in a sandy soil, which probably re- 
quires direct fertilizing with stable or commercial fertilizers. 

Lime on Alfalfa. 

What effect does putting lime on land have in holding moisture? 
Also, will it pay to put it on a large field of alfalfa? The land is adobe. 
I can get slaked lime for the hauling, distance being about five miles. 

The lime will make the land more friable and, therefore, less dis- 
posed to bake and lose moisture by evaporation. Alfalfa is hungry 
for lime and is generally advanced by the application of it. 

Fertilizing Alfalfa. 

Can new cozv manure he put on alfalfa? Is not the best way to use 
the above as a fertiliser in form of liquid being run from barn via 



172 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

pipes to a settling-tank and from there via irrigation ditches to the land 
to be irrigated? What is the best way to get rid of cow manure so as 
to keep a barn sanitary and the place free from stcnchf 

Cow manure can be used to advantage on alfalfa. Corrals can 
be cleaned up and the manure spread at the beginning of the rainy 
season. During the winter the manure can be spread as it is pro- 
duced and very good results will be noticed in the growth during 
the following summer. It is perfectly rational for you to use the 
liquid fertilizer as you propose in connection with irrigation water, 
but this is not generally done because of the cost of the outfit and 
the labor of handling the material in that way. The best way to 
keep a barn sanitary is to keep it clean, removing all the waste 
matter to a considerable distance daily, allowing nothing to ac- 
cumulate, and have the stable drainage arranged so that the stable 
can be frequently flushed out into good drainage outlets, carrying 
the water to grass or alfalfa land if possible. 

Fertilizing Corn. 

We are going to plant about 20 acres to corn on a sidehill and' 
intend to put some fertiliser on, but zvant to give it to the corn only.' 
Would it be a good plan, after we have marked out our rows, to scatter 
some fertiliser in these marks and put the corn right on top of it? 

We take it you ask about the use of a readily soluble commercial 
fertilizer. If so, you can do as you propose, being careful not to use 
too much. The operation of planting will distribute the fertilizer 
through enough soil if the application is not too heavy. The efTect 
will depend something upon what showers you get after planting. 

Scrap Iron as a Fertilizer. 

Is cast or other iron in small pieces plowed into the land of any 
benefit to trees as a fertilizer? If so, what would be the value as such 
per 100 pounds? Junk dealers sometimes offer 25 cents per 100 pounds. 
If it has any value as a fertiliser, I am satisfied it must be worth four 
times that price. We pay three cents a pound for sulphate of iron as a 
fertilizer. Of course, it is a salt and dissolves quickly, therefore, I believe 
cast iron, even if it works slowly, has some value, and at the saine time 
farmers can clean up and get rid of a lot of rubbish. 

In most cases the California soils are sufficiently supplied with 
iron by nature. Iron scraps have a little and remote value because 
they are so slowly available by the process of rust disintegration. It 
might, therefore, be worth while for farmers to bury such scrap iron 
as accumulates on the place below the reach of the cultivating tools. 
But it would not be profitable to buy iron scraps at junk dealers' 
price, nor would it be profitable to haul this material any long dis- 
tance, even if it could be had for nothing. 

Kelp as a Fertilizer. 

Are there ill effects from using sea kelp as a fertilizer for orange 
trees? 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 173 

There is no ill efifect. Sea kelp has been dragged from the beaches 
at low tide, partly dried and used, for centuries perhaps, as field fer- 
tilizer for all sorts of crops in Europe, and for decades, to some 
extent, on the New England coast. The dangerous substance in it 
would seem to indicate that that is not present in sufficient quantity 
to cause trouble. The great difficulty lies in securing and transport- 
ing the substance, for less than its fertilizing equivalent can be 
obtained by purchase of other more concentrated manures. 

Applying Thomas Phosphate. 

When is the best time to apply Thomas phosphate slag on orchard 
land? 

As Thomas phosphate is slowly soluble, it can be applied at any 
time during the rainy season without danger of loss, and for the 
same fact, it should be applied early during the rainy season in order 
to be available to trees during the following summer's growth. It 
ought, perhaps, to be added that other forms of phosphate have 
largely displaced slag during the last few years in the United States, 
other forms being more available. 

Sugar Factory Lime for Fertilizing. 

Is the lime from a sugar factory a good fertiliser for either oranges 
or zvalnuts ; if so, about what amount to the acre would you recommend? 

If your land needs lime or if it is heavy and needs to be more 
friable, or if you have reason to think that it may be soured by 
exclusion of air or by excessive use of fermenting manures, the 
refuse lime you speak of will do as a corrective just as other lime 
does, though, perhaps, not so actively. Beyond that there is nothing 
of great value in it. You can use two or three applications of 500 
pounds to the acre without overdoing it — if your land needs it at 
all. 

Nitrate With Stable Manure. 

/ am going to plant about 2000 plants of rhubarb. I intend to put 
some cow and horse manure under the plants as a fertilizer, but I do 
not think I will have enough for all the plants, so I bought some nitrate 
of lime, zidth the intention of mixing the cow and horse manure with 
the lime nitrate, which I thought zvould allow me to spread the manure 
much thinner and I could cover more surface. Now I am not sure but 
the nitrate of lime zvill burn the manure if mixed with it. 

You can mix either nitrate of lime or nitrate of soda with the 
stable manure as you propose; in fact, it is frequently done. These 
nitrates are neutral salts and do not act on manure as caustic lime 
or wood ashes would do. They are quite content to keep along 
without kicking their neighbors. But, of course, the more nitrate 
you add the more careful you must be about using too much of the 
mixture, and as for putting manure under any plant, at spring plant- 
ing particular, it is dangerous business. 



174 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Nitrate of Soda. 

Hozv shall I apply nitrate of soda as fertiliser for roses and otJier 
flowers and lawns during the summer months? 

One has to be very careful in the use of nitrate of soda not 
to use too much and not to apply it unevenly, so that too much 
is brought in contact with the roots of particular plants. From one 
to two hundred pounds an acre evenly distributed is the usual pre- 
scription for nitrate of soda, although in the case of bearing orange 
trees considerably larger amounts have been successfully used. This 
would be at the rate of about one ounce to one square yard of sur- 
face. It would be a safe application to begin with and could be 
increased a little on the basis of observation of results. Of course, 
the application should be accompanied by copious irrigation in order 
to dissolve and distribute the substance. 

Fertilizing Strawberries. 

/ have half an acre of strazuberries which will fruit their second 
season this spring, and half an acre set last month. I had intended to 
use nitrate of soda on them, but ivas talking to a friend who told me it 
would kill my soil. That the first year it ivould produce an enormous 
crop and the next year I couldn't raise anything. Which ivould be better 
to use here, stable manure or commercial fertiliser? 

It is true that nitrate of soda is a stimulant of plants, and by 
rendering soil fertility immediately available may seem to reduce 
the supply later, and yet it is a most available forcing fertilizer 
if used with great caution, not over 200 pounds to the acre evenly 
scattered over the whole surface or a less amount, of course, if con- 
fined to particular areas. If used in excess it may actually kill the 
plants. Still nitrate of soda is being used actively and intelligently 
by nearly all growers of plants and must be counted on the whole 
a valuable agency. If you can get stable manure, nothing is better 
as a complete plant food. Application to strawberries must be made 
at the close of the season, rubbish scraped away and manure applied 
and allowed to stand on the surface during the early rains, being 
worked into the soil during the rainy season. If the soil is light, 
sandy loam, too much coarse material must be avoided. Therefore, 
well-rotted manure is important on such soils while on a heavy soil 
coarser material may be used to advantage if applied early in the 
rainy season. If you have no well-rotted manure, a complete com- 
mercial fertilizer will give best results. 

Late Applications of Nitrate. • 

/ have some prune trees which blossomed some time ago and the 
prunes are already set, and of small sise. Would you recommend me to 
use an application of, say lOO pounds per acre of nitrate of soda, applied 
immediately, or is it a little too late in the season to get the desired 
result? 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 175 

It would be perfectly safe to use 100 pounds of nitrate of soda 
to the acre well distributed now; in fact, you could safely use twice 
as much, but we doub.t if you would get any benefit from it unless 
you should irrigate, for there is no reason to expect showers that 
would have penetrating powers enough to carry the nitrate any ap- 
preciable distance into the soil. Of course, the nitrate could be plowed 
or cultivated in to a considerable depth, but that would probably result 
in losing moisture by deep opening or turning, which would do 
more harm than any gain which the nitrate produces, if it were to 
become available. Our judgment would be, then, that it is too late 
for any benefit to accrue unless the land can be irrigated. 

Charcoal is a Medicine, Not a Food. 

Recently a lumberyard burned, leaving quite a quantity of charcoal. 
I have a lot 50x150 feet in rhubarb. Would the charcoal be of any 
service on that lot as a fertiliser? I nozv have it well fertilized with 
horse manure, but would like to use the charcoal if it would be of any 
material assistance to the plants. 

Charcoal is of no value as a fertilizer. It is practically inde- 
structible in the soil. In fact, they are digging up now charcoal in 
the graves of ancient Egyptians, who departed this life five thousand 
years ago. Charcoal has corrective influence in absorbing some 
substances which might make the soil sour or otherwise inhospitable 
to plants. It has been found desirable sometimes to mix a certain 
amount of charcoal with soil used in potting plants for the purpose 
of preventing such trouble. The only way to make your charcoal 
of any value as a fertilizer would be to set it on fire again and 
maintain the burning until it was reduced to ashes, which are a 
source of potash and, therefore, desirable, but it will probably cost 
more than the product of potash will be worth. 

Humus Burning Out. 

/ would like to know ivhether or not dry-plowing land, in preparation 
for sowing oats for hay, injures the soil? I have heard that dry plowing 
tends to wear out the soil, as the soil is exposed to the sun a long time 
before harrowing. I have been dry-plowing my land to kill the weeds, 
but had a light crop of hay this year. 

There is believed to be what is called "a burning out of humus," 
by long exposure of the soil to the intense heat of our interior dis- 
tricts. It is probable that the reduction of humus is due more to 
the lack of efifort to maintain the supply than to the actual destruction 
of it by culture methods. Such a little time as might intervene 
between dry plowing and sowing could not be charged with any 
appreciable destruction of soil fertility. It is altogether more prob- 
able that your hay crop was less from loss of moisture than from 
loss of other plant food; and it is desirable to harrow a dry plowing, 
not so much to save the soil from the action of the atmosphere, as 
to conserve the moisture, which, as you know, will rise from below 



176 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

and will rapidly be evaporated from the undisturbed bases of your 
furrows. Therefore, we should harrow a dry plowing as soon as prac- 
ticable, but with particular reference to the moisture supply rather 
than to other forms of fertility. 

Straw for Humus, 

Do you consider straw good to plozv wider for humus, and zvhich kind, 
wheat, oat, or barley straw, is best? 

Straw, by its decay in the soil, produces humus and, therefore 
acts in the same way just as does the decay of other forms of vege- 
tation. As, however, straw is less easily decomposed than fresh 
vegetation, it is less valuable and may be troublesome by acquiring 
a greater amount of moisture by interfering with cultivation or by 
tending to dry out the soil to the injury of other plants. If the soil 
is heavy and moisture abundant, straw may be desirable, while in the 
case of a light soil and scant moisture, may be injurious. There 
is no particular difference in the straw of the different grains from 
this point of view. 

The Best Legume for Cover Crop. 

What would you advise to sow as a crop to plow under? When should 
it be sowed, and when plowed under? 

The best crop for green-manuring in any locality is the one 
which will make the best growth when surplus moisture is available 
for it, and when its growth can be undertaken with least interference 
with irrigation, cultivation and other orchard operation. Generally 
in California, such a crop can be most conveniently grown during 
the rainy season, but in some parts of the State where irrigation 
water is available, a summer growth can be procured with very satis- 
factory results; so that we are now growing in California both winter- 
growing legumes, like field peas, vetches, burr clover, etc., which are 
hardy enough to grow in spite of the light frosts which may prevail, 
and are also growing summer legumes which thrive under high tem- 
perature, like cowpeas and other members of the bean family, and 
for which water can be spared without injury to the fruit trees which 
share the application of the land with them. The plants which are 
worth trying are burr clover, common or Oregon vetch, Canadian 
field pea, and the common California or Niles pea. Whichever one 
of these makes the best winter growth so that it can be plowed under 
early in the spring, say in February or March, while there is still 
plenty of moisture in the soil for its decay, without robbing the trees 
or rendering the soil difficult of summer cultivation, is the plant 
for you to use largely. All these plants should be sown in California 
valleys and foothills, as soon as there is moisture enough from rainfall 
to warrant you in believeing they will catch and continue to grow. 
If the land is light they can be put in with a cultivator and plowed 
under deeply in the spring, as stated. If the land is heavy, probably 
a shallow plowing would be better to begin with. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 177 

Cowpeas for Cover Crop. 

/ planted cowpeas betzveen peach trees which I have kept irrigated; 
when should they be plowed under? 

Cowpeas will be killed by frost in most places and should, there- 
fore, be plowed in this fall whenever you have a large growth of 
green stufif and the ground gets moist enough so that the trees will 
not be endangered by drying out of the soil, which is likely to occur 
after plowing in coarse material, unless the soil is kept moist by 
rain or otherwise. 

Garden Peas for Green Manure. 

Would it he possible to plant the Yorkshire Hero pea in an orange 
grove as late as Decetnber 25 and get a crop from the peas? Would this 
pea add much to the fertility of the soil? 

You can sow any garden peas as late as December 25, if the 
ground is in good condition and the temperature not too low. They 
are grown as a winter crop except when the ground freezes. You 
would not get as much good for the grove by growing these peas 
for the market as you would by plowing the whole growth under 
green, but you certainly will get advantage from the decomposition 
of the pea straw and of the root growth of the plant. 

Grass for Green Manuring. 

I wish to sow this fall some green grass to be plowed in next spring 
to improve the soil of part of my land. I read for that purpose a bulletin 
I had from the government, but the conditions are so different here in 
California that I am very much puzzled which kind to select. 

There is no grass which grows quickly enough to be worth seed- 
ing in the fall for spring plowing. It is a good deal better to use 
a grain, either barley or rye, for the seed is cheap, the growth quick 
and you can get a good deal of green stuff to plow under. Legumes 
are, of course, better because of their ability to absorb atmospheric 
nitrogen, but any plant which makes a large green growth is good, 
and it is better to have a heavy weight of wild vegetation than to 
have a light growth of an introduced legume. 

Manure with a Clover Crop. 

/ have an old apple orchard in which I intend to sow burr clover. 
In order to get the clover to grow I know that I shall have to use fer- 
tilizer of some kind and this is what I want your advice about. 

If you can get it, use stable manure at the time of sowing the clover 
seed. Stable manure alone will restore the irumus and overcome the 
rebellious behavior of the soil. Possibly yott cannot secure sufficient 
quantities of it. In that case a little with the burr clover seed will 
give the plant a good start, or use a complete fertilizer to secure the 
growth of a legume in the freest and quickest way. 



178 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Fenugreek as a Cover Crop. 

Fenugreek has been recommended to be as a nitrogen-gathering plant, 
but I cannot find information as to the amount of nitrogen it gathers 
in its roots and tops, nor the amount of crop per acre. 

Fenugreek is a good nitrogen gatherer and is desirable for green 
manuring wherever you can get a good growth of the plant. You 
can count it worth as much as peas, vetches, etc., if you can get as 
much growth of the plant. It is most largely used in the lemon dis- 
trict near Santa Paula. The best way to proceed would be to try 
a small area of all the nitrogen gathering plants of which you can 
get the seed easily, and determine by your own observation which 
makes the best growth under your conditions. 

Improvement of Cementing Soils. 

/ would like some advice in Iiandling the "ceincnty" gravel soil. 
Manure is beneficial in loosening up the soil, but there is not enough 
available. Would the Canadian field pea make a satisfactory growth 
here if sown as soon as the rains begin? I would try to grow either 
peas or vetch and plow under in February or March and then set trees 
or vines on the land. 

The way to mellow your soil is certainly to use stable manure 
or to plow under green stuff, as you propose. This increases the 
humus which the soil needs and imparts all the desirable characters 
and qualities which humus carries. You ought to get a good growth 
of Canadian field peas or common California field peas or the common 
Oregon vetch by sowing in the fall, as soon as the ground can be 
moistened by rain or irrigation, and, if the season is favorable, secure 
enough growth for plowing under in February to make it worth 
while. Be careful, however, not to defer planting trees and vines too 
late in order to let the green stuff grow, because this would hazard 
the success of your planting by the reduction of the moisture supply 
during the following summer by the amount which might be required 
to keep the covered-in stufif decaying, plus loss of moisture from the 
fact that the covered stufif prevented you from getting thorough sur- 
face cultivation during the dry season. For these reasons one is to 
be careful about planting on covered-in stuff which has not had a 
chance to decay. This consideration, of course, becomes negligible 
if you have water for summer irrigation, but if you expect to get the 
growth of your trees and vines with the rainfall of the previous winter, 
be careful not to waste it in either of the ways which have been 
indicated, and above all, do not plant trees and vines too late. 
Theoretically, your position is perfect. The application of it, how- 
ever, requires some care and judgment. Rather than plant too late, 
you had better grow the green stuff the winter after the trees have 
been planted. 

Needs Organic Matter. 

I have zvhat I believe to be decomposed sandstone. Many rocks 
are still projecting out of land zvJiich I blast and break up. The soil 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 179 

works freely zvhen moist or wet, but when dry it takes a pick-axe to 
dig it up; a plozu won't touch it. Among my young fruit trees I tried 
to grow peas, beans, carrots and beets, and although I freely irrigated 
them during the summer and fall, and although I planted at different 
times, my peas and beans have been a total failure, and the beets, carrots 
and onions nearly so. For years the land has groivn nothing but weeds. 

Your soil needs organic matter which would make it more easy 
of cultivation, more retentive of moisture, and in every way better 
suited to the growth of plants. Liberal applications of stable manure 
would produce best effects. No commercial fertilizer would begin 
to be so desirable. If you can dig into the soil large amounts of 
weeds or other vegetable waste material, you would be proceeding 
along the same line, but stable manure is better on account of its 
greater fertilizing content. You ought to be thankful that the soil 
has spunk enough to grow weeds. The Immanent Creator is still 
doing the best he can to help you out; take a hand yourself on the 
same line. 

Two Legumes in a Year. 

/ have land on which I wish to plant to fruits, and I wish to build 
up the soil all I can, by planting cover crops and plozving under. What 
would be the best to plant this fall, to be plozved under next spring, and 
to plant again next spring to plow under in the fall? I will not be able 
to plant any trees before next fall or the following spring. 

Get in vetches as soon as the ground is in shape in the fall. 
Plow them under early in the spring and close the covering and 
compact the green stuff by running a straight disk over the ground 
after plowing. This will help decay and save moisture. Follow 
with cow peas as soon as you are out of the frost, disking in the 
seed so as not to disturb the stuff previously covered in. Do not 
wait to put under the winter growth until it is safe to put on the 
cowpeas, for, if you do, you will lose so much moisture that the cowpeas 
will not amount to much. 

Handling Orchard Soil. 

We average about 35 inches of rainfall. With this heavy rainfall, 
is there any advantage to be gained by early plowing and clean cultivation 
right through the zvinter? Would such plozving and cultiva^wn result 
in any serious loss of plant food? Would you advise an early or late 
application of nitrogen, such as nitrate or guano? If there is any loss 
from an early application, can it be determined by any means? 

The old policy of clean winter cultivation has been largely aban- 
doned. Nearly everyone is trying to grow soniething green during 
the rainy season to plow under toward the end of it. Even those 
who do not sow legumes for this purpose are plowing under as 
good a weed cover as they can get. This improves the soil both in 
plant food and in friability, which promotes summer pulverization and 
saves moisture from summer evaporation. Much less early plowing 
is done than formerly unless it be shallow to get in the seed for the 



180 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

cover crop; the deeper plowing being done to put it under. Guano 
can be applied earlier in the winter than nitrate, which can be turned 
in with the cover crop, while the former may be sown with the seed 
to promote the winter growth. Whether you are losing your nitrate 
or not the chemist might determine for you by before-and-after 
analyses. If you are a good ol)server you may detect loss by absence 
of the effects you desire to secure. 

Soaking Seeds. 

Do you think it a good practice to soak seeds before planting? 

It is more desirable with some seeds than others and when the 
ground is rather dry or the sowing time rather late, than when 
sowing in moister ground or earlier in the rainy season, when heavy 
rains are to be expected. Soaking is simply a way to be sure that 
the seed covering has ample moisture for softening and the kernel 
has what it requires for awakening its germ and meeting its needs. 
The soil may not always have enough to spare for tliese purposes 
and germination may be delayed or started and arrested. Ordinarily 
seeds can be helped by soaking a few hours in water at ordinary 
temperatures. Some very hard seeds like those of acacia trees, etc., 
are helped by hot water — even near the boiling point. 

Irrigating Palms. 

My palms arc quite small, but they do not seem to grozv; they seem to 
be drying up. 

The growth of palms is proportional to the amount of soil mois- 
ture available, providing it is not in excess and not too alkaline. 
Some palms are quite drouth-resisting, but it is a mistake to think 
of a palm as a desert plant and try to make a desert for it. A 
young palm, especially, needs regular and ample water supply until 
it gets well established. Your plants may be drying up, or they may 
have had too much frost or too much alkali. If they are not too 
far gone, they will come out later if you give them regular moisture 
and cultivation. 

Water from Wells or Streams. 

One of our neii^hbors insists that zvater from a well is, in the long 
run, very hard on the land, and that irrigation zvater is much to be 
preferred. 

There is no characteristic and permanent difference between 
waters from wells and waters from streams so far as irrigation is 
concerned. The character depends upon the sources from which 
both are derived. Some wells may carry too much mineral matter in 
the form of salt, alkali, etc., and some stream waters sometimes carry 
considerable alkali. For this reason some wells may be better than 
streams and some streams better than wells. Tiicre is no general 
rule in the matter. Your neighbor may be right as applied to your 
location, and may know from his experience that the well water 



Soils, Fkrtilizkks and Irrigation 181 

carries too much undcsiraljlc material. That could only be determined 
by analysis, and the analysis must be made when the water is rather 
low, ]}ccausc during the rainy season, or soon after it, the water 
may have less mineral impurity than later in the season when it 
may be more concentrated. 

Shall He Irrigate or Cultivate? 

Our soil is of an excellent quality, and I feel if the moisture ivere 
properly conserved by suitable methods it could be made to produce 
fruits or some other very much more profitable than from hay and grain 
crops. 

Whether you can grow deciduous fruits successfully without irri- 
gation depends not only upon how well you conserve the moisture 
by cultivation, but also whether the total rainfall conveys water 
enough, even if as much as possible of it is conserved. Again, you 
might find that thorough cultivation will give you satisfactory young 
trees, but would not conserve moisture enough for the same trees 
when they come into bearing. This proposition should be studied 
locally. If you can find trees in the vicinity which do give satis- 
factory fruit under the rainfall, you would have a practical demon- 
stration which would be more trustworthy than any forecast which 
could be prepared upon theoretical grounds. 

Condensation for Irrigation. 

// a circular funnel of waterproofed building paper, or some better 
cheap device, were fastened about the base of the tree in such a manner as 
to catch and concentrate most of the drippings from the leaves, and 
that zvater made to run down through a tube leading a suitable depth 
into the earth, it seems to me that the number of foggy nights that 
occur in many localities during the season might thus supply ample ivater 
for a tree's needs. 

The probability is that water would not be secured in sufficient 
quantities to serve any notable irrigation purposes, or if the fogs 
were so thick as to yield water enough, the sunshine would be too 
scant for the success of the plant. Put your idea to the test and 
see how much water you could get from a tree of definite leaf area, 
which could be readily estimated. 

Winter Irrigation. 

Last May I irrigated my prune trees for the first time, again during 
the first two weeks of last December. If no rain should come within the 
next tzvo weeks, zvould yoti advise me to irrigate then? Should I plow 
before irrigating, or should irrigation be done before the buds swell?' 

Unless your ground is deeply wet down by the rains which are 
now coming, irrigate it once, and do not plow before irrigating. The 
point is to get as much water into the ground and as mudh grass 



182 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

growth on top as you can before the spring plowing. Never mind 
about the swelling of the buds. The trees will not be affected in- 
juriously by getting a good supply of winter water into the soil. 
There might be some danger with trees which bloom late in the 
spring, like citrus trees or olives, because by that time the ground 
has become warm and the roots very active. At the blooming time 
of deciduous trees less danger would threaten, because there is less 
difference between the temperature of the ground and the water 
which you were then applying from a running stream. If you irrigated 
in furrows and, therefore, did not collect the water in mass, its 
temperature would rise by contact with air, which would be another 
reason for not apprehending trouble from it. 

How Much Water for Oranges? 

Hoiv much ivatcr would you consider absolutely necessary to carry 
to full-hearing citrus trees on clay loam — that is, hoiv many acres to a 
miner's inch, figuring nine gallons per minute to the inchf 

It would, of course, depend upon the age of the trees, as old 
bearing trees may require twice as much as young trees. We would 
estimate for bearing trees, on such retentive soil, 30-acre inches per 
year applied in the way best for the soil. 

Damping-off, 

My orange seed-bed stock has "damp-off." Some say "too much 
rvater," "not enough water," "put on lime," etc. I use a medium amount 
of zvater and more of my stock is affected than that of any other grozver. 
One man has kept his zvell soaked since planting, and only about six 
plants zvere affected. Another has used but little zvater, keeping them 
very dry; he has lost none. 

Damping-ofT is due to a fungus which attacks the tender growth 
when there is too much surface moisture. It may be produced by 
rather a small amount of water, providing the soil is heavy and the 
water is not rapidly absorbed and distributed. On the other hand, 
a ligliter soil taking water more easily may grow plants without 
damping-off, even though a great deal more water has been used 
than on the heavier soil. Too much shade, which prevents the sun 
from drying the surface soil, is also likely to produce damping-off, 
therefore, one has to provide just the right amount of shade and the 
right amount of ventilation through circulation of the air, etc. The 
use of sand on the surface of a heavier soil may save plants from 
damping-off, because the sand passes the water quickly and dries, 
while a heavier surface soil would remain soggy. Lime may be of 
advantage if not used in too great quantities because it disintegrates 
the surface of the soil and helps to produce a dryness which is 
desirable. Keeping the surface dry enough and yet providing the 
seedlings with moisture for a free and satisfactory growth is a matter 
which must be determined by experience and good judgment. 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 183 

Irrigated or Non-Irrigated Trees. 

Is there any difference between the same kind of fruit trees groivn 
zvithout irrigation and with it? 

It does not make a particle of difference, if the trees are grown 
well and matured well. Over-irrigated trees or trees growing on land 
naturally moist may be equally bad. Excessively large trees and 
stunted trees are both bad; with irrigation you may be more likely to 
get the first kind; without it you are more likely to get the latter. 
There is, however, a difference between a stunted tree and a well- 
grown small tree, and as a rule medium-sized trees are most desirable 
than overgrown trees. The mere fact of irrigation does not make 
either good trees or bad trees: it is the man at the ditch. 

Too Little Rather Than Too Much Water. 

Looking through an orchard of i8-year-old prune trees on river- 
boitom land, I found a number of the trees had died. A zvell bored in 
the orchard strikes ivatcr at about 15 feet. I find no apparent reason for 
tlie death of these trees unless it is that the tap roots reach this body of 
ivaUr and are injuriously affected thereby. 

We do not believe that water at 15 feet depth could possibly kill 
a prune tree. It is more likely that owing to spotted condition of 
the soil, gravel should occur in different places, and with gravel three 
or four feet below the surface a tree might actually die although 
there was plenty of w^ter at a "depth of 15 feet. There is more danger 
that the trees died from lack of water than from an oversupply of 
it, and it is quite likely also that you could pump and irrigate to 
advantage large trees which did not seem to be up to the standard 
of the whole place, as manifested by lack of bearing, smallness of 
leaves, which would be apt to turn yellow too early in the season. 

Possibly Too Much Water. 

My trees are four years old and are as follows: Peach, tig, loquat, 
apple, apricot and plum. Last year they had plenty of blossoms, but I 
got no fruit. I alzuays zvatered them tzvice a zvcek in summer. 

You are watering your trees too much; stimulating their growth 
too much, and this, while a tree is young, is apt to postpone its fruit 
bearing. Give the soil a good soaking about once a month, unless 
you are situated in a sandy or gravelly soil, in which more frequent 
applications may be necessary. 

Too Little Water After Dynamiting. 

In planting almonds on a dry hard soil I dynamited the holes and 
ran about 200 gallons of water into each hole before planting. About 
95 per cent of the trees started groivih, but seem now to be in a some- 
zohat dormant state, the leaves of some being slightly wilted. All the 
trees were watered since planting. I haz'e been told I made a mistake by 



184 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

throwing zvater in the dynamited holes. When the holes were watered 
the ground was very dry and the water disappeared in a few minutes. 

You have used too little water rather than too much. Dry soil 
of fine texture can suck up an awful lot of moisture, which can be 
drawn off so far, or so widely distributed, that there will not be 
enough for the immediate vicinity of the roots. The dynamiting 
tended to deep drying and necessitated much more irrigation. 

Irrigating Young Trees. 

We have just put out lo acres to walnuts. The party zvho put them 
out wants me to have some boxes or troughs made 15 inches long with a 3- 
inch opening, and put in on the slant so as to have the water hit the 
roots. 

Many such arrangements of boxes, perforated cans, pieces of tile, 
etc., have been proposed during the last fifty years in California for 
accomplishing the purposes which are mentioned in your letter, and 
all such devices have been abandoned as undesirable. They may bring 
the water to bear upon a lower level as intended, but the free access 
of air and the fact that, with their use, proper stirring of the soil is 
neglected renders them undesirable. The best way to water young 
trees singly is to make a trench around tree, but not allowing the 
water to touch the bark, applying the water and then thoroughly hoe 
when the surface soil comes into proper condition. Young trees 
treated in this way, with the surface always in good condition, do not 
require much water. The amount depends, of course, upon whether 
the soil is naturally porous or retentive. 

Underground Irrigation. 

How extensively used and with what results is the underground tile 
system for irrigation used, and what especial character of soil is it best 
suited for? 

Not extensively at all; in fact, if there is an acre of it which has 
been for three years in continuous and successful operation, it has 
escaped us. After forty years of trial of different systems, none has 
demonstrated value enough to warrant its use. Theoretically, they are 
excellent; in practice they are defective. Surface application in dif- 
ferent ways, according to the nature of the soil, accompanied with 
thorough cultivation, is the only thing that at the present time prom- 
ises satisfactory results, except that where the land suits it, irrigation 
by under-flow from ditches on higher elevations is being successfullj' 
used on small areas in the foothills. For gardens the most promising 
arrangement seems to be a laying of drain tiles rather near the sur- 
face, which shall be taken up each year, cleaned of silt and plant 
roots, and relaid along the rows before planting; but this calls for too 
much labor, except perhaps for amateur gardeners. The kind of soil 
best suited to such a system is a medium loam which will distribute 
water sufficiently to avoid saturation and air-exclusion. Both a heavy 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 185 

soil which does this, and a coarse sandy loam which takes water down 
out of reach of shallow-rooting plants too rapidly and lacks capillarity 
to draw it up again, are ill adapted to underground distribution. 

Irrigation of Potatoes. 

Will you kindly tell mc when is the proper time to irrigate potatoes, 
before they bloom or after they bloom, and do they require much zvaterf 

It should seldom be necessary to irrigate potatoes after the 
bloom appears. Potatoes do not need much water, and there is 
danger of giving them too much. It is absolutely essential to see 
that there is no check in the growth of the plant, for once the 
growth is at all checked by drought, and irrigation is done, a new 
lot of potatoes start and new and old growth of tubers are worthless. 
Give what irrigation is needed and make cultivation do the rest. 
The secret of success is keeping the soil continually at the right 
moisture, so that the first growth of the plant may continue regularly 
until the tubers are brought to maturity. 

Irrigated or Non-Irrigated Apples. 

Where soil and climatic conditions are favorable to the raising of 
apples, what effect has irrigation on them? 

The commercial product of California apples is chiefly made upon 
deep soils in districts of ample rainfall so that the fruit can be 
perfected and the trees maintained in thrift by thorough cultivation 
and without irrigation. In the foothill and mountain regions, how- 
ever, apple frees are irrigated and first-class fruit produced by the 
process. There is no particular virtue in the absence of irrigation 
nor in the presence of it. All that the tree requires is that the 
moisture supply should be adequate and timely. There are un- 
doubtedly many apple orchards grown without irrigation where a 
little water during the latter part of the summer would be a great 
advantage for the perfection of winter varieties. 

Irrigating Walnuts — Checks or Furrows. 

Which is the best method to irrigate a tract of 25 acres of sandy 
sediment soil, nearly level, preparatory to planting walnuts? 

By all means use the furrow system of irrigation unless your 
land should be so light that the water would sink in the furrows 
and distribution would be very unequal without covering the whole 
surface as is done by filling checks. When the land cannot be 
covered well by the furrow system, checking is resorted to, but not 
otherwise. 

Summer and Fall Irrigation. 

Is it desirable to irrigate peach trees in the fall after the crop is 
gathered? 

The popularity of autumn irrigation for peaches in the San 
Joaquin valley is based upon the experience of the last few years 



186 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

where trees that have been allowed to become dormant too early in 
the season and have been weakened by a long period of soil-drought 
during the autumn, have cast their blossoms or manifested other 
indications of weakness during the following year. It is thoroughly 
rational to apply irrigation to hold the leaves and secure their service 
in the strengthening of bloom buds for the following year by irriga- 
tion. Such irrigation should be applied immediately after the fruit 
is gathered or even before that, if the yellowing of the leaves in- 
dicates lack of strength in the tree and the frequency and amount of 
irrigation during the autumn depends upon whether the soil will 
hold moisture enough to carry the tree to its proper period of dor- 
mancy. This may be determined by the aspect of the trees and 
by digging down two or three feet to see whether the soil carries 
moisture which is likely to be sufficient until the coming of the 
rains. Whether late irrigation will be necessary is also determinable 
by the character of the soil; on close retentive soil it may not be 
necessary, while on loose, sandy or gravelly soil it may be essential 
to the life of the tree. One has to settle all these matters by judg- 
ment and not by recipe. 

Fertilizers in Irrigation Water. 

Do you recommend putting fertilizers in irrigating ivatcrf I am 
about to zvater the orchard and am thinking of putting some nitrate in 
the water. 

You can distribute any soluble fertilizer by dissolving it in irri- 
gation water, but few have ever done it because of the difficulties of 
getting equal strength in running water. It is much easier to dis- 
tribute on land before irrigation. 

Irrigating Alfalfa on Heavy Soils. 

Hoiv does alfalfa succeed on adobe and soils slightly modified from 
it? Does irrigation zvork zvell on adobe planted to alfalfa? 

If you get the irrigation adjusted so that the soil shall not be 
water-logged and so that the water does not stand on the surface 
when the sun is hot, you can get plenty of good alfalfa on a heavy 
soil. Irrigation on adobe soils must be done more frequently and 
a less amount at each application to guard against the dangers 
named above. 

How Much Water for Crops? 

Some of my land is heavy, but the most of it is light soil. I want 
alfalfa mostly, some potatoes and grain, and later oranges, olives and 
other fruit. Hoiv much zvater in inches or acre feet is required per acre 
per year for the irrigation of it? 

The amount of water required to grow different crops depends 
upon the crop itself, upon the time of the year in which it grows, 
the character of the soil, etc. There is no such thing as stating 
how much water would be used for all crops on all soils, and at all 



Soils, Fertilizers and Irrigation 187 

times of the year. The range would be from, say, ten acre inches 
for irrigation of deciduous fruits, which need moisture supplementary 
to rainfall; twice or thrice as much for citrus fruit trees; four or 
five times as much for alfalfa where a full number of cuttings are 
required. These are, of course, only rough estimates which would 
have to be modified according to local rainfall and soil character. 
Water should be applied frequently enough to keep the lower soil 
amply moist. A color of moisture is not enough and a muddy condi- 
tion results from too much water. One has to learn to judge when 
there is moisture enough, and a good test of this to take up a handful 
of soil, squeeze it and open the hand. If the ball retains its shape 
it is probably moist enough. If it has a tendency to crack upon 
opening the hand, it is too dry. This test, of course, is somewhat 
affected by the character of the soil, but one has to form the best 
judgment possible how far allowance has to be made for that. 

Sewage Irrigation. 

What is the usefulness or harmfulncss of the outflow from septic 
tanks for use on fruits and vegetables^ 

There is no question as to the suitability of the affluent from 
a septic tank for irrigation purposes. Waste waters are sornetimes 
injurious when they are loaded with antiseptics, but the septic tank 
will not work unless it has a chance for free fermentation in the 
absence of antiseptics, therefore, this objection against waste water 
does not hold with the out-flow from septic tanks. It has the ad- 
vantage over straight sewage irrigation because fermentation in the 
septic tank is believed to free the water from many dangerous germs, 
though not all of them. 

Creamery Wastes for Irrigation, 

Will the zvaste water from a creamery, pumped into a ditch and used 
for irrigating sandy loam orchard land, or nursery stock, in any way 
he injurious to the land or the trees? 

It will depend upon the amounts of salt and alkaline washing 
materials which it carries. This would be governed, of course, by the 
amount of fresh water used for dilution in the irrigation ditch. There 
are two ways to determine the question. One would be to make an 
analysis of a sample of the water taken when it contains the largest 
amount of these materials after the dilution with ditch water. Another 
wa->^ would be to plant some corn, squashes, barley and other plants, 
so that they would be freely irrigated by the water during one grow- 
ing season. This would be rather better than an analysis, because 
everybody could see whether the plants grew well or not, and would 
be apt to be better convinced by what they see than by an opinion 
which a chemist might give on the basis of an analysis. The use 
of this water on a sandy loam would obviously be less injurious 
than upon a heavy retentive soil. 



188 One Thousand Qukstions in Agriculture 

House Waste Water. 

Is it feasible to use ivasli imter, etc., for "ivatering fruit trees and 
vegetables^ 

Kitchen sink water is not desirable because of its great content 
of grease, but wash-tub an^l bath-tub water are good. Strong soap- 
suds should be mixed with considerable rinsing water to escape 
excessive content of alkali. Run the water in hoe-ditches, along the 
rows of vegetables, hoeing thoroughly as soon as the land hoes well, 
changing the runs of water so that the soil does not become com- 
pacted but is kept friable and lively. 

Draining a Wet Spot. 

/ have a spot of about an acre that in a wet zvinter becomes very 
miry and as a rule is zvet up to July. Can I put in a ditch tzvo and one- 
half feet deep and fill in with small stones for a foot or a foot and a 
half, until I can afford to buy tiles? 

Drains made of small stones are often quickly filled with soil 
and stop running. However, it will work for a time, and such drains 
were formerly largely employed in Eastern situations when cash was 
scant and stones abundant. Dig the ditch bottom to a depth of not 
less than 3 or 3J/2 feet, then put in the stones deep enough not to be 
interfered with by plowing. If you have flat stones you can make 
quite a water-way with them and fill in with small stones above it. 



PART V. LIVE STOCK AND DAIRY 



Legal Milk House. 

What is a legal milk house in California? 

The State dairy law says little concerning the construction or 
equipment of the milk house. It says that the house, or room, shall 
be properly screened to exclude flies and insects, and is to be used 
for the purpose of cooling, mixing, canning and keeping the milk. 
The milk room shall not be used for any other purpose than milk 
handling and storing, and must be 100 feet or more distant from 
hogpen, horse stable, cesspool or similar accumulation of filth, and 
must be over 50 feet from cow stalls or places where milking is 
done. In regard to the size of the milk room and equipment, nothing 
is said provided it is large enough for the milk to be handled con- 
veniently. Concrete milk houses, however, had best have smooth- 
finished floors and walls. The interior of the milk house is also to 
be whitewashed once in two years or oftener. If milk from the 
dairy is to go to a city, the requirements will be more severe than 
provided in the State law, and must conform to the ordinances of 
the city to which the milk is to be sent. 

Cure for a Self-Milker. 

What shall I do for a young cow that milks herself? 

Fit a harness consisting of two light side slats and a girth and 
neck strap in such a way that the cow cannot reach her udder. Unless 
she is particularly valuable for milk, it will save you a lot of worry 
to fix her up for beef. 

Strong Milk. 

How can I overcome strong milk in a three-quarter Jersey cow? I 
had been feeding alfalfa hay with tzvo quarts alfalfa meal and one quart 
middlings twice a day. Thinking the strong milk came from the feed 
I changed to oat hay and alfalfa zmth a soft feed of bran and middlings. 

There is nothing in either ration that could cause strong milk, nor 
will a change of feed likely benefit the trouble. If the cow is in 
good physical condition the trouble probably comes from the entrance 
of bacteria during or after milking. Thoroughly clean up around the 
milking stable, followed by a disinfection of the premises. Have the 
flanks, udder and teats of the cow thoroughly cleaned before milking 
and scald all utensils used for the milk. Harmful bacteria may have 
go<:ten well established on the premises and the entrance of a few 
is enough to seriously affect the flavor of the milk. Once the trouble 
is checked it can be kept down with the usual sanitary methods. 



190 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Separator as Milk Purifier. 

/ have a neighbor zvho contends that a cream separator purifies the 
milk that passes through it. I say that it does not purify the milk. I 
agree that it does take out some of the heavy particles of dirt and filth, 
but that it cannot take out zvhat is already in solution with the milk. 

The purification naturally cannot be very great, and if milk is 
produced in unsanitary fashion, running through the separator will 
do little, if any, good. Nevertheless, the separator does remove more 
than just the solid particles of dirt. The purifying comes by leaving 
behind the separator slime, so called, the slimy material left behind 
after a good deal of milk has been run through. In fact, some 
creameries separate milk,- only to mix milk and cream again, largely 
for the purpose of removing the impurities found in the slime. In 
this slime are not only the impurities that fall into the milk, but also 
some of the fibrous matter that is part of the milk, and this gathers, 
being pulled out by gravity as are the fat particles, it seems to 
gather with it a few more bacteria than remain in the milk itself. 
Material in real solution, as sugar is in solution in water, naturally is 
practically unaffected by separation. You are, therefore, right to the 
extent that you cannot produce unsanitary milk and clean it with the 
separator, but your neighbor is right to the extent that the separator 
does remove some impurities and is used just for that purpose. There 
is also in the dairy trade a centrifugal milk clarifier which is con- 
structed in somewhat similar manner to a cream separator, but acts 
dififerently on the milk in not interfering with cream rising by gravity 
when separated cream and milk are mixed after cleaning. 

Butter Going White. 

/ bought some butter and during the warm weather it melted. About 
40 or 50 per cent was ivhite, zvhile the balance zvas yellozv and zvent to 
the top. When the butter remelted, the yellozv portion melted, leaving the 
zvhitc portion retaining its shape. The zvhite portion did not taste like 
ordinary butter. The butter made from our cozvs' cream melted at a 
higher temperature, but did not have a zvhite portion. Why did our 
butter not act like the creamery butter? 

Samples of butter have occasionally been sent to this ofifice that 
have turned white on the outside, and since the white part has a very 
disagreeable, tallowy flavor, people think that tallow or oleomargine 
has been mixed with it, but we have never been able to find any 
foreign substance in any of the samples. We have found that some 
of the best brands of butter will turn white first on the outside and 
the white color will gradually go deeper if the butter is exposed to 
a current of air or if left in the sun a short time. — F. W. Andreason, 
State Dairy Bureau. 

What Is "Butter-fat?" 

/ would like to knozv zvhat "butter-fat" means. I have asked farmers 
this question and no one seems to know. I suppose all parties dealing 



Live Stock and Dairy 191 

with creameries understand what the standard of measure or weight of 
butter-fat is, but it is my guess that there are thousands of farmers whom, 
if they were asked this question, would not knozv. We, of course, know 
that butter is sold by the pound and cream by the pint, quart or gallon, 
but what is butter-fat sold by? 

Butter-fat is the yellow substance which forms the larger part of 
butter. Besides, this fat butter is composed of 16 per cent or less of 
water and small amounts of salt, and other substances of which milk 
is composed. From 80 to 85 per cent or so of ordinary butter is the 
fat itself. It is sold by weight. The cream from which butter is 
made is taken to the creamery and weighed, not measured. A small 
sample is tested by the so-called Babcock test to determine the exact 
percentage of fat, and payment mode on this basis. For instance, if 
I'OO pounds of cream is one-third butter-fat, the dairyman receives 
pay for 33 Vs pounds of this substance. If it is only one-quarter fat, 
he receives pay for 25 pounds. Ordinary cream varies within these 
limits, but may be much richer or thinner. Cream after the butter- 
fat is removed is much like skimmed milk, although it has less water 
in it. 

Why Would Not Butter Come? 

What is the trouble with cream that you churn on from Monday 
until Saturday, then have to give up in despair and turn it out to the 
hogs? We warmed it, and we cooled it, and used a dairy thermometer, 
but nothing would do. 

If the cream was in churnable condition otherwise, the probability 
is that it was too cool when you started churning. It should be 
about 62° Fahrenheit. 

Drying a Persistent Milker. 

My cow is to come fresh about the middle of next month, and in the 
last two weeks her milk has changed in some way so that the cream 
makes very yellow butter and comes to butter nearly as quick as when 
the cow was fresh. Would it best for her to go entirely dry before com- 
ing fresh, or will it be all right if she does not entirely dry up? 

If your cow has been able to pick up any special amount of grass 
since the rains came it might add to the color of the butter. A 
cow's milk also gets richer toward the end of her lactation period, 
which may make a richer cream and make the butter come quickly 
There does not seem to be anything to worry about. The cow would 
probably do better if she could become entirely dry before calving, 
but unless you can easily dry her up it would be dangerous to try 
to force her to do so. 

Butter-fat in Sweet and Sour Cream. 

The creamery wagon takes our cream every other day. Without 
ice it is almost impossible to keep the cream szveet during the hot weather. 
By the time the wagon gets here, several hours after the fourth milking. 



192 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

the cream is quite sour. Does sour cream test lozvcr than szveet cream? 
Is any butter-fat lost due to evaporation in dry weather? 

The test of sour cream will be as accurate as of sweet cream, if 
properly made, but it is rather more difficult to make; or rather, to 
get the material into condition to work well. There is no fat lost 
by evaporation. 

Cream That Won't Whip. 

When I sell my cream from the separator they say they cannot 
whip it. Can you tell me if there is any ivay that I can make the cream 
whip ? 

There appears to be no good reason for blaming the separator 
for your difficulty with the cream. Possibly the cream may be too 
thin, as thin cream is sometimes difficult to whip. There is also the 
possibility that the fat globules in the cream may be rather small, 
but that will be the fault of the cows, not of the separator. Another 
reason why the cream may not whip well may be that it is used too 
quickly. If the milk is all right, the cream not too thin and it is 
permitted to stand for 12 hours or so there should be no trouble with 
it. Occasionally when cream is pasteurized it will not whip well. In 
these cases, or any other that may develop, the application of lime 
water to the cream at the rate of 1 gallon to 60 will remove the 
difficulty. 

What Is Certified Milk? 

What process has milk to go through to be called "certified," and 
zvhat demand is there for it? 

Certified milk is simply milk that is produced and marketed under 
prescribed sanitary conditions. The dairies are inspected periodically 
by representatives of some medical society or other organization to 
see that all regulations are observed, who certify that this is done; 
hence the name. Milk from other dairies is prohibited by law from 
being sold under the name "certified milk." Among the requirements 
in its production are that the cows must be free from tuberculosis 
and otherwise perfectly healthy, the stable to have a concrete floor 
which is washed out after each milking, the milkers to have special 
clothes for milking, etc. The milk is cooled and bottled immediately 
after milking, and kept at a low temperature until it reaches the 
consumer, to prevent the entrance of dirt of any kind or the develop- 
ment of the few bacteria that must gain entrance before it is bottled. 
To produce such milk requires much expensive apparatus and much 
more labor than to produce ordinary milk, and as a result it sells for 
a much higher price, both to distributer and consumer, so that the 
market for it is rather limited. 

Jersey Shorthorn Cross. 

// / cross Registered Shorthorns imth a Jersey bull, zvhat dairying 
value will the progeny have? 

This makes an excellent cross. Even beef-strain Shorthorns have 
lots of milking power if it is developed and the Jersey cross will 



Live Stock and Dairy 193 

bring it out in the progeny. The cows have excellent milking qualities 
and give very rich milk. They also have a big frame and fine con- 
stitution. About the finest cows in Humboldt county were of this 
cross although Jersey bulls have been used so long that the Shorthorn 
blood is almost eliminated. The first "improved" cattle in California 
and the first cross made for dairy purposes was Jersey bulls upon 
grade Shorthorn cows. Later the Holstein Friesians became popular 
and they and their grades are now most abundant. 

A Free Martin. 

/ have a Jersey cozv who has just had twin calves, a heifer and a 
bull. The heifer was born about Hve minutes before the bull and seems 
to be the stronger. My neighbors tell mc to fatten both for the butcher, 
for they say the heifer zvill be barren. The mother is a young cow, as 
this is her second calf. Kindly inform if this is one of nature's laws 
or if there is a possibility of the heifer turning out all right? 

The probability is that it will be better to veal the heifer than 
to raise her, as most heifer calves twinned with a bull are free martins, 
or animals of mixed sex and no good for breeding purposes or for 
profitable milk production. If the bull is a good animal, he probably 
will be all right, as this twinning does not seem to afifect a bull calf, 
though it does the heifer. It does not always happen that the heifer 
is worthless for breeding, but the probability is so great that you 
had better have her killed and be done with it. 

What Is a "Grade"? 

Does the term "grade" mean an animal whose sire is a thorough- 
bred and whose dam is a scrub, or just one ivho is selected from others 
because of her good points or those of her mother? 

Roughly speaking, a grade animal is one having more or less 
pure-bred blood, but not enough, or otherwise too irregular, for regis- 
try under the rules of the association of the breed to which it has 
affiliation. It does not refer to selection without use of a pure-blood 
sire at some point in the ancestry, but this is not a distinction of 
much moment, for it is hard to find animals which have not borrowed 
something from some cross with pure blood, though remote. The 
terms high and low grade are sometimes used to signify amount of 
pure blood recognizable by form and other characters or remembered 
by owners or their neighbors. Generally speaking, a grade is any- 
thing not entitled to registry, though ordinarily it refers to the off- 
spring of a pure-bred sire and a cow of another or of no breed. 
The offspring of a pure-bred cow and a scrub bull would also be 
a grade. 

Breeding a Young Mare. 

/ have a beautiful colt 22 months old that mil weigh 1200 or 1300 
pounds; very compactly built, and has extra health, life and vigor. I 
zvant this colt for a brood-mare. Would you advise breeding at two or 
three years old? 



194 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Authorities agree at placing the age from two to three years, 
according to the development of the animal and other circum- 
stances. 

"To Breed in the Purple." 

What is meant by breeding a sozv in the purple F I have seen this 
statement used many times by breeders who advertised "sows safe in 
pig bred in the purple." 

To be "bred in the purple" means to be of royal or princely 
parentage. It originally was used in reference to the nobility of 
Europe, as purple was the insignia of royal blood, due to the fact 
that purple was the rarest and most costly color and only the rich 
and noble could buy it. When used in referring to live stock, it 
signifies that the animal in question has a long line of blooded 
ancestry. 

Cows for Hill Country. 

What breed of dairy cozvs do you think would be preferable to keep 
for butter, at an altitude of about 1800 feet, in Nevada county — Jerseys, 
Guernseys or Ayrshiresf I do not mean to have them to rustle for 
their ozvn living, but to feed them tvell, house and care for them in all 
weather, particularly in stormy weather. 

The best breed for a man is the one he likes best, providing 
it has been bred for the purposes he desires to attain. All the 
breeds you mention are suited to the scheme you outline. 

Foothill Dairying. 

Is there any risk to run in taking cozvs to an altitude of 2000 
from a much lower one? 

There is no quarrel between a cow and a mountain. Ever 
since the settlement of the State cows have been driven djrectly 
from the valley up to the mountain meadow pastures, both for 
butter and for beef-making, in the summer time. The foothill 
elevation you mention is only a starting to elevations of 6000 feet 
and more to which cattle are driven every season. 

Bad-Tempered Jerseys. 

Jersey bulls are apt to become vicious after a time; is it so to the 
same e.vtent with bulls of the other named breeds? 

The Jersey bull is conceded to be crosser and more dangerous 
than other bulls, but no bull should ever be allowed to have a 
chance at a man. Never consider a bull gentle and you will be 
safe with him. 

Breeding in Line. 

Is it right and proper to breed a pedigreed registered bull to his 
daughter, who is the offspring of a grade cow? If it is not right, explain 
why. If it can be done, will the offspring be physically perfect and an 



Live Stock and Dairy 195 

improvement, or will it have poorer qualities than its sire and tnotherf 
If this inbreeding can be done successfully, how long can it be carried 
on, or, in other words, hoiv long could one bull be bred back into his 
own off spring? Can a herd be perfected in this way? 

It is right and proper to breed a registered sire to his daughter, 
who is the offspring of a grade cow. The first cross is all right 
and the offspring ought to be physically perfect. This is a first 
step in what we call line breeding, but in line breeding proper, 
both animals must be pure bloods and registered, having ancestors 
on both sides which have a long line of good individuals with 
strong constitutions and true to type. To do this, one must have 
a perfect ideal in mind. This line breeding is what has developed 
the breeds today up to the high standard of perfection. Breeding 
sire to daughter, if followed along these lines, will be all right; 
at least, it was so in the case of Amos Cruickshank, the great 
shorthorn breeder. You cannot successfully breed back on the 
daughter's offspring, but if you use a straight out-cross on the 
daughter's offspring you can again use this sire on her produce with 
marked success. In the case of a grade cow and registered sire, 
there are two things which will make you either lose or win with 
one cross, and that is regarding the breeding of your sire. If he 
is just an ordinary-bred fellow it will be a hit-and-miss game, but 
if he is from a long line of good ancestors on his dam's side, you 
can very materially improve the herd, because always keep in mind 
the female produce from the sire's dam will grow with age toward 
the sire's dam. So if your first cross from your first sire is all 
right, use a straight out-cross bull, but be sure he is what he ought 
to be, and then you can use your old bull back on his heifers. Of 
course, a man practicing this breeding ought to be a thorough 
stockman and a first-class judge of live stock. — W. M. Carruthers. 

Whitewashes for Stock Buildings. 

/ desire whitewash recipes which have given durable results on out- 
buildings. 

It is so desirable to make outbuildings neat and clean, and so 
important to keep trees from sunburning, etc., that a durable white- 
wash as cheaply and easily made as possible is very important. 
The following are commended: No. 1 — To half a bucketful of un- 
slaked lime add 2 handfuls of common salt, and soft soap at the 
rate of 1 pound to 15 gallons of the wash. Slake slowly, stirring 
all the time. This quantity makes 2 bucketfuls of very adhesive 
wash, which is not affected by rain. No. 2 — Whitewash requires 
some kind of grease in it to make it most durable. Any kind of 
grease, even though it be old and partly spoiled, will answer all 
right, though tallow is best. The grease imparts to the whitewash 
an oil property the same as in good paint. Tallow will stay right 
on the job for years, and the cheapest of it will do. In order to 
prepare this grease and get it properly incorporated into the white- 



196 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

wash, it is necessary to put the grease in a vessel on the stove, 
and boil it into a part of the whitewash so as to emulsify it and 
get it into such condition that it can be properly incorporated with 
the whitewash mixture. No. 3 — For every barrel of fresh lime, 
add 16 pounds of tallow, 16 pounds of salt and 4 pounds of glue, 
dissolved. Mix all together and slack; keep covered, and let stand 
a few days before using. Add water to bring the right consistency 
to spread readily. For nice inside work strain it. When less than 
a barrel of lime is used, the quality of the wash does not seem so 
good. It is better to apply hot, but it does well cold. 

Government Whitewash. 

What is the government recipe for ivhitcwash? 

"Take a half bushel of well-burned, unslaked lime, slake it 
with boiling water, cover during the process to keep in steam, 
strain the liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and add to it 7 
pounds of salt, previously dissolved in warm water; 3 pounds of 
ground rice boiled to a thin paste and stirred in while hot; half 
a pound of Spanish whiting and 1 pound of glue, previously dis- 
solved by soaking in cold water, and then hanging over in a small 
pot hung in a larger one filled with water. Add 5 gallons of hot 
water to the mixture, stir well and let it stand for a few days, 
covered from dirt. It should be applied hot, for which purpose it can be 
kept in a portable furnace. A pint of this mixture, if properly 
applied, will cover a square yard." 

Whitewash for Spray Pump. 

Can you give a recipe for a durable whitewash zvhich can be pre- 
pared simply and in large quantities? The whitewash zvill be applied 
with a spray pump. 

To 25 pounds of lime, whole, slacking with 6 gallons of water, 
add 6 pounds of common salt and 1^ pounds of brown sugar. 
Stir and mix well and allow to cool. When cool stir in 1 ounce 
of ultramarine blue. Then add 2 gallons of water, and sprinkle 
and stir in 2 pounds of Portland cement. If two coats are to be 
applied, add 1 more gallon of water. Strain for work on smooth 
surface. 

Buttermilk Paint. 

Hoiv is paint made ivith buttermilk for farm buildings? 

One gallon buttermilk, 3 pounds of Portland cement, and suf- 
ficient coloring matter to give the desired shade. Apply as soon 
as made, and stir a great deal while being applied. It is said to 
dry in about 6 hours and to be a good preservative for fences, 
barns and other outbuildings. 



Live Stock and Dairy 197 

Trespassing Live Stock. 

7^ there a fence law in this State? In other zvords, do I have to 
fence against my neighbors' stock, or docs the law require him to care 
for his stock and keep it off my property? 

The old "no-fence law" which was enacted during the troubles 
between wheat growers and stock rangers has been put out of 
commission by more recent legislation. The trespassing live stock 
is liable for damage, but just how to proceed to protect yourself 
you sliould learn from a local lawyer who knows statutes and your 
county ordinances also. 

Rat-Proof Granary. 

How can I make a rat-proof granary for alfalfa meal and barley? 

Omit all boarding of the sides below the floor level and place 
a heavy inverted pan, milk pan, between the top of each of the 
supporting posts and the floor beams. Care should be taken that the 
diagonal bracing of the underpinning or posts does not allow a 
rat to secure a foot hold near enough the floor to permit of gnawing 
through. 

Concrete Stable Floor. 

Is a concrete floor good for a horse stable? 

Concrete floors are satisfactorily used for horse stables, pro- 
vided the floor is ribbed or otherwise roughened in a way to reduce 
the danger of slipping. Some stablemen have stall floors made that 
way. Some use a wooden grating over the concrete in places where 
the horses have to stand for any length of time. Others soften the 
standing by free use of bedding. 

Silo-Heating Not Dangerous. 

Is there any danger of a barn burning from spontaneous combustion 
due to a silo being built in the barn? 

There is no danger of the silo overheating and setting fire to 
a barn. When the ensilage is curing, it often gets warm, but never 
anywhere near the point of combustion. 

To Make Shingles Durable. 

What is the best material with ivhich to coat the shingles on my 
barn roof? 

The best coating is a wood preservative, the principal ingredient 
of which is creosote. There are several reliable brands of preserva- 
tives and stains that may be had at a cost of about half that of 
paint. We must remark also the natural durability of redwood 
shingles in this climate if the roof has a good pitch. We reshingled 
our house roof after 20 years of use and found the shingles so 
sound that we turned them and shingled the sides and roof of 
a shed with them, where they promise to be good for another score 
of years. 



198 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Best Breed of Hogs. 

What is the best breed of hogs for pen feeding, shutting them up 
in small pens from the time they are little pigs and feeding them mostly 
on skim milk and slops f 

There is no best breed. It is a matter of personal preference. 
Any of the breeds are all right to pen up and feed. The principal 
thing is to see that the hogs are all pure bred and have not been 
crossed too often to cause deterioration. Choose one breed of hogs 
and keep them as pure as possible and you will have no trouble in 
raising them. All the breeds are good; but some are fancied more 
than others. Dark-colored hogs are preferred in California because 
less liable to sunburn. 



PART VI. FEEDING FARM 
ANIMALS 

Feed for Plow-Horses. 

While doing heavy plozving, how many pounds of rolled barley per 
day should I feed to keep 1300-pound horses in good condition? If I 
feed part oat hay and part alfalfa hay, together with rolled barley, what 
ration zvould be ample? 

A ration used by the California Experiment Station was 12 
pounds of alfalfa hay, 11 pounds of wheat hay and 7 pounds of 
crushed barley for 1000 pounds of horse at hard work. The larger 
the horse the less food for the amount of work he does in propor- 
tion to his size, so multiplying these figures by 1.2 would bring a 
person somewhere near the ration for a 1300-pound horse, and_ an 
approximation is as close as one can come to any general ration. 
Probably more alfalfa and less of the other feeds could well be 
given, since many farmers are succeeding in feeding alfalfa ex- 
clusively. 

Vetch for Horses. 

Does vetch make good feed for horses? Will vetch produce a heavier 
crop than grain? When is the best time to sow vetch for hay, and what 
is the best variety? 

Vetch makes excellent stock feed whether used as hay or as 
pasturage. Vetch falls to the ground so badly that it is very diffi- 
cult to cut hay from it unless some grain is planted to hold it up. 
Oats make an excellent hold-up crop and is more generally used. 
A half a bushel of vetch seed is mixed with a bushel of oats and 
this is enough to plant an acre. Some growers, however, prefer a 
bushel of vetch as that makes the stand much heavier. 

Sorghum Feeding. 

Can I allow milk cozvs to pasture on growing Kaffir and Egyptian 
corn during the summer? Which one is the best for pasture and milk? 

There is no difference between Kaffir corn and Egyptian corn 
so far as feeding goes. They are both sorghums. There is a 
danger in pasturing on young sorghums, because stock is often 
killed from overeating it, and they are quite apt to do this when 
they come upon it from dry feed. If you cut and wilt the young 
sorghum, or if it is fed sparingly with hay, etc., it becomes innocent 
of injury. After the sorghum has obtained considerable growth, it 
also loses its dangerous character. 



200 Onk Thousand Qukstions in Agriculturk 

Salting Hay. 

What hind of sail is usrd for sailing hay, lw2V much to use and hozv 
to apply itY • 

Any good commercial salt such as is used for pork or beef 
packinpr is satisfactory for salting hay. A good handful to the ton, 
scattering il as tlic liay is stocked is as good a formula as can be 
had. 

Stover. 

What is stover':' How is it cut and handled? 

Stover is corn fodder after the ears are taken ofif. The best 
time lo cut tlie corn for stover is immediately after the kernel 
I)ocomcs dented and the leaves or blades commence to dry. Im- 
mediately after the cars are taken ofT, the stalks should be cut and 
stacked. The size of the shock depends upon tlie climate. If it 
is a foggly climate and stalks are green, it is better to make a 
smaller shock, but in the interior valley where the weather is warm 
it is best to make large shocks, so that the stacks will not dry up 
very rapidly. 

Feed for Cows. 

What shall I feed coivs when they arc fresh and wJien they arc dry? 

When llicy commence to freshen, give some green feed, such as 
alfalfa or corn; if possible, also give, say, two or three pounds of 
barley or bran, and gradually increase this for two or three weeks 
until si.x or seven pounds of bran or barley is being fed. Also give 
a small amount of hay. Bran may be rather expensive feeding and 
a substitute is being used. Take four parts of barley to one of bran 
and mix. With barley at its low price, this makes rather inexpensive 
feeding. Another su])stitute is to take the chopped alfalfa hay and 
barley. These are mixed thorouglily together and moistened. After 
the cow freshens and gives her full flow of milk, let her cat all the 
alfalfa hay she wants. A good ration is about 15 to 20 pounds of 
hay, 6 or 7 pounds of barley or bran and about 10 pounds of roots 
such as beets or mangels. When the cow is dry, pasture is the best 
food, supplemented with some green food. 

Sorghum Silage. 

Will lli^yplian corn make ij,ood eusilaine and at 7i'!iat time should it 
be cut to make the best feed for dairy cows? 

Sorghum makes good silage. It must be cut while surely juicy 
enough, for it is a little more ;ipt to dry out tlian Indian corn. 

Barley for Hay Feeding. 

Should the barley for hoi^ feedint^ be rolled, 'ground or fed zvholc, 
dry or wet' .llso, hozv much should be fed and hozv often to get best 
results? 



Feedinc; Farm Animals 201 

To obtain the best rcsulls, tlic barley sbould be ground into 
a meal (not too fine) and bave tbc bulls screened or floated out. 
This is best fed wlien made into a tbick slop. Some good feeders 
believe in letting it stand until fermentation sets up, that is, gets 
a little sour. We prefer a sweet to a sour feed. However, hogs 
will do well on eitlu-r, provided there is no change from sour to 
sweet. The change is the bad part. Hogs should ])e fed just the 
amount that they will clean up well, and no more. A hog should 
always be ready for his feed at feeding time. We would not feed 
oftener than twice a day: night and morning. — Chas. Goodman. 

Sugar Beets and Silage. 

Will sugar beds keep in a silo and hozv sugar beets rank as a hog 
feed? 

Sugar beets would ])rol)ably keep all right if slorod in a silo 
just as they might if kept in any other receptacle, but it is not necessary 
to store beets for stock-feeding in this State. They can be taken from 
the field, or from piles made under open sheds in which the beets may 
be put because more convenient for feeding than to take them from 
the field in the rainy season. Beets put whole into a silo would not 
make silage. For that pur])Ose they would need to be rcfluced to a pulp, 
but there is no object in going to the expense of that operation where 
beets will keep so well in their natural condition and where there is 
no hard freezing to injure them. Beet pulp silage is made from beets 
which are put through a pulping process for the purpose of extraction 
of the sugar and, therefore, best pulp silage is only made in connection 
with beet-sugar factories and is a by-product thereof which is proving 
of large value for feeding purposes. 

Feeding Value of Spelt. 

What is the food value of spelt? It is a Russian variety of zvheat, 
and yet, I am informed, it has about the same value as a slock food 
that barley has. 

We have no analysis of spelt at hand. It is presumably like that 
of barley, as you suggest, because the spelt has an adhering chaff 
as barley has. This fact makes it better for feeding than wheat, not 
in nutritive content, but because the chaff tends to distribute the 
starchy material, making it more easily digestible; just as barley and 
oats are better th;in ordinary wheat for stock feeding. 

Concentrates and Corn Stalks. 

Is it necessary lo feed mulch cozvs any hay or concentrated feed in 
addition to green corn stalks? 

It is necessary. Green corn is an excellent thing for milch cows, 
but it is a very unbalanced ration and needs alfalfa or something else 
to balance it up. Green corn, for example, contains only about one 
per cent of digestible protein and 11.5 per cent of digestible carbo- 



202 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

hydrates and 0.4 per cent fat, or a nutritive ratio of about 1 to 12^. 
A proper ration would be about 1 to 6 or 7, or less. To balance this 
up alfalfa can be fed better than anything else in California, for that 
is very rich in protein and the cheapest supply of protein that there 
is. If you give the cows a good supply of alfalfa hay with the green 
corn, you will have an ideal combination. 

Dry Sorghum Fodder. 

Is Egyptian corn fodder good for cows? I have been told it zvould 
dry up the milk. I have several acres and would like to feed it if it 
is not harmful. 

Dry sorghum fodder is counted about the poorest roughage that 
one would think of harvesting. It is much less valuable than Indian 
corn fodder. Egyptian corn is one of the non-saccharine sorghums 
which are valuable both for grain or for green feeding. We never 
heard of direct milk-drying efifect, though such a result might be 
expected from feeding such innutritive material, which is also difficult 
of digestion. If fed for roughness it should be in connection with 
concentrated foods like bran or oil meal or with green alfalfa. No 
cow can give much milk when the feed is hardly nutritive enough to 
keep her alive. 

There seems to be, however, much difference in the dry fodders 
from different varieties of sorghum. One grower writes: "Kafifir corn 
is the only variety within our knowledge of which the fodder is of 
much value. We consider the fodder much more preferable than that 
of the ordinary Indian corn, and our stock eat it much more readily 
than the sweet sorghum. However, it requires a much longer season 
in which to ripen than does any of the other varieties, for which 
reason it is less desirable to plant in midsummer." 

Steers on Alfalfa. 

How much alfalfa hay will a two or three-year-old steer eat per 
day, and about what is the gain in iveight per day? 

A steer will clean up about 33 pounds per day. Steers will make 
about lYz pounds gain in weight per day. 

Concentrates with Alfalfa. 

/ have a good supply of alfalfa liay and have been feeding tliis as 
a straight feed for my dairy coivs. They are not, however, doing as well 
as iltey should and I am looking for some good feed to go with it. 

You could probably get better returns by feeding about a pound 
of cocoanut meal and three of dried beet pulp than by any other 
combination of concentrates with straight alfalfa. If you are pro- 
ducing market milk or butter prices justify it, more concentrates could 
profitably be fed. It is an expensive proposition to build up a properly 
balanced ration with alfalfa and concentrates alone, and unless mar- 
ket mrlk is being sold, it usually does not pay. The cheapest way 



Feeding Farm Animals 203 

to provide a balanced ration is not by concentrates, but by wheat or 
other grain straw, and let the cows eat all they care for. This is 
very cheap and helps to balance a ration with green or dry alfalfa 
hay, is usually cheap, and is fine for cows. Both are much less ex- 
pensive than concentrates. 

Chopping Hay for Horses. 

What sa^'iiig may be made by chopping all oat hay when fed to 
horses? 

There is no particular saving in chopping hay unless the horses 
are worked very hard and for very long hours, as is often the case 
with express horses in the cities, or unless the power for cutting is 
very cheap and feed high. The idea is that, except in unusual cases 
as above mentioned, the horses can do their own grinding cheaper 
than it can be done by power. Somewhat less hay is wasted when 
fed cut than when fed long, but if they are not fed too much long 
hay they will waste very little. 

Grain for Horses. 

What is the best formula for feeding work horses with oat hay, 
alfalfa, barley (crushed) and corn as rations? 

Feed one-half oat hay and one-half alfalfa hay, about 1 to 1^ 
pounds per day for each 100 pounds live weight of the horse. Add 
to this from ^ to 1 pound of rolled barley or corn for each 100 
pounds live weight. If the corn is on the cob, four-fifths of its weight 
is corn; that is to say, 5 pounds of corn on the cob has 4 pounds 
of grain. 

Feeding Cut Alfalfa Hay. 

Would alfalfa hay, cut, say, from one-half to three inches in length 
be better than whole hay for hogs, cattle and horses, and if it is better, 
should it be fed wet or dry? 

Cattle and horses do much better when fed chopped alfalfa hay 
than when fed whole hay. They can eat the required amount in much 
less time and with less exertion. For cattle and horses the hay should 
be cut about one inch long and fed dry. There is no advantage in 
chopping alfalfa hay for hogs unless it is mixed with ground grain and 
made into slop. — L. P. Denny. 

Storing Cut Alfalfa Hay. 

We are planning on cutting our next season's crop of alfalfa toith 
a feed cutter and storing it in a barn for winter feeding. 

The hay must, of course, be thoroughly cured, because of the great 
danger of heating in a tight mass. A. Balfour says: "I have been 
cutting alfalfa into a barn for two seasons. It is absolutely necessary 
to have the sides and floor tight, and it is easier to feed it if it is in 
a loft. The hay is best stacked first, and must be thoroughly cured." 



204 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Alfalfa Grinding. 

IS the curing of alfalfa fur grinding different from ordinary; lias it 
to be chopped before grinding, and zvhat is the cost of grinding i' 

Alfalfa hay should be cut when the very first blossoms commence 
to appear. At this point the plant contains the greatest amount of 
protein ; from that time on until seed time, the protein diminishes and fiber 
increases. To make meal, hay should be well cured, have gone through 
the sweat, and should be dry, or as near dry as possible. It mills 
easier when dry and makes a finer product. It should be cured so as 
to retain the green color. To grind it, it is not necessary to cut it 
before grinding, it mills better if ground just as it conies from the 
stack. The cost of milling hay varies with the size of the machine, 
condition of hay, whether dry or damp, or whether tough or tender. 
With larger plants of a capacity of four to five tons per hour, it costs 
about 45 cents a ton to put it in the sack, exclusive of the cost of 
sacks; and with smaller, it runs from that on up to $1 to $2 per ton. 

Feeding Calves. 

How soon can calves be weaned and not hi)ider their growth^ After 
zveaning, what would you advise to feed them? 

After the calf has once nursed, it should be taken away from its 
mother, but fed its mother's milk for a few days, depending on the 
vigor of the calf. Commence to add skim-milk after a week or ten 
days, adding a small amount at first and increasing it daily until the 
calf is on an entirely skim-milk diet. The milk must be sweet, it 
must be as warm as its mother's milk and the calf must not have too 
much of it. Four quarts at a feed twice a day is sufficient for the 
average sized calf for the first month, then increase it accordingly. 
Add a spoonful of ground flaxseed to each feed and teach the calf to 
eat a little grain as soon as possible. Ground barley is the most 
economical feed to balance a ration containing so much skim-milk. 
If calves show a tendency to looseness of the bowels, feed less milk, 
and when this does not remedy the trouble, heat some skim-milk to 
boiling and when it is cooled to a proper temperature feed this to the 
calf. A good grain ration to feed calves along with skim-milk is 
ground barley with green alfalfa hay. When the milk is cut ofif, feed 
barley and bran soaked with molasses water. Put a pint of molasses 
in a pail of water and dampen feed with it. This amount will dampen 
three bushels of feed. — W. M. Carruthers. 

Winter Feed for Sheep. 

What would be the best to soiv for sheep pasture — barley, oats, rye, 
vetch or rape? 

Of the grains, rye is usually found to be best for quick winter 
growth, and rye and vetches sown together are very satisfactory, be- 
cause the rye holds the vetches up so that the whole growth can be 
more successfully handled with the mower, and if grown that way and 



Feeding Farm Animals 205 

fed green in a corral, a very large amount of good feed can be se- 
cured. Sufficient experiments have not yet been made with rape to 
fully demonstrate its value. Even if it grew well, it would be inferior 
in nutritive value to vetches and rye. 

Balanced Rations. 

What is a balanced ration for milk cotvs and brood sozvsf 

When plenty of alfalfa is available many dairymen feed that alone. 
It is better to feed a little corn, grain hay, beet pulp or the beets 
themselves to balance up the ration. Some of the best concentrates 
to feed to offset alfalfa hay are ground barley and dried beet pulp. 
The same thing can be said about the sows. They will consume about 
10 pounds of chopped alfalfa per day and all the skim-milk that is 
likely to be given them. Not more than eight pounds of concentrates 
need be fed, of which one-fifth may be bran, the same amount, or more, 
of cocoanut oil cake, and the rest corn or barley. With plenty of 
skim-milk and alfalfa, but little grain or other concentrates will be 
needed. A few beets will also go well with alfalfa. 

Pasture and Cover Crop. 

/ am thinking of solving burr clover with rye to be plowed under 
in the spring. Is it good policy to sow rye with clover? 

Burr clover and rye would be very satisfactory for sowing, after 
the rains, to secure a winter growth for plowing under in March or 
April, or earlier if the growth should be large enough to warrant. 
Such a cover crop can be pastured lightly to advantage. 

Cutting Corn for Silage. 

What is the best time to cut corn for the silo? What length is it 
cut? Is water put on it when it is put in the silo? 

The best time to cut corn for the silo is just as the kernels are 
beginning to glaze. It is cut with a proper ensilage cutter into half 
or three-quarter inch lengths. No water is used, unless the corn 
should be unusually dry, with shriveled leaves; in that case, the use 
of water to compensate for the loss of moisture in the stalks and leaves 
is desirable. 

Fall and Winter Pasturage. 

What do you advise for planting in the fall for winter pasture in 
the Sacramento valley? Are Held peas suitable? 

The common California field pea, called Niles pea, the Canadian 
pea, the common vetch (which is sometimes called the Oregon 
vetch because the seed is largely grown in that State) are all suit- 
able for fall planting and winter growth because they are not in- 
jured by ordinary valley frosts. Aside from legumes, you can get 
winter feed from fall-sown rye, Essex rape or kale. 



206 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Summer Pasture for Hogs. 

/ want to pasture ho^s in the San Joaquin valley this spring and 
summer. Have zmter for irrigation, but will not have time to get alfalfa 
started sufficient to pasture. 

Sorghum can be planted with pumpkins or some root crop 
between the rows. The root crop or the pumpkins could be used 
in the later summer, while the sorghums could come between the 
natural grasses of the early spring and the root crops. A strictly 
pasturage scheme is to sow wheat or barley and turn the hogs on 
this, so that they will eat within certain prescribed limits. In order 
to do this, the held needs a shifting fence, so that the hogs can be 
driven from one section to another — never letting the hogs eat too 
closely, as they will kill off the stand. 

Size of a Silo. 

/ am phuniiiig to build a silo S feet high and lo feet across. Will 
ensilage (corn, oats) keep well in a silo of those dimensions? 

The silo you are intending to build is too shallow, and would 
liold only a very small amount of silage. There would be several 
inches loss of silage before you could start feeding, and you would 
have to feed at least two and probably three inches off per day in 
order to keep the food from spoiling. Sixty inches of silage would 
thus only last about twenty days. Also, the deeper a silo is, the 
tighter the ensilage is packed and the more will be contained in a 
cubic foot. The following table will give suggestions as to dimen- 



sions: 












Diameter. 


Height. 


Capacity. 


Diameter. 


Height. 


Capacity. 


10 feet 


25 feet 


36 tons 


14 feet 


34 feet 


115 tons 


10 " 


28 " 


42 " 


15 " 


34 " 


131 " 


11 " 


29 " 


60 " 


16 " 


35 " 


158 " 


12 " 


32 " 


73 " 


20 " 


35 " 


258 " 


13 " 


33 " 


83 " 









A cow can consume four tons of silage in 180 days and more 
or less as you care to feed, so by figuring out how long you will 
probably feed, you can sec the size of silo to build at once. 

Soiling Crops in California. 

What are the dates for phuitim:: crops to be used for soiling in your 
Stater 

We are using Indian corn and sorghums of various kinds for 
soiling to a certain extent. There is also some cutting ana carry- 
ing of alfalfa, although most of the alfalfa is pastured. Dates of 
planting depend upon the frost-free period; sometimes beginning in 
April, and successive planting for later growth as water may be 
available for irrigation. There are places where one can see stand- 
ing corn and sorghum untouched by frost as late as IDecember 1. 



FicKDiNf; Fakm Animals 207 

In otlicr locations the growth of these phmts liavc to be made 
between May and Sei)tenil)er. We have also winter-soiling prac- 
ticed to a small extent in this State and for that purpose rye and 
barley sown at the beginning of the rainy season are used to some 
extent. 

Brewer's Grains for Cows. 

Arc sf routed hurley firains that may be had from breweries f^ood for 
milch cows'/ Will it increase the milk, or will it dry up the cozvs? 



quaniuies, supplemented Uy nngnt nay or corn lociacr tor ciry leeo, 
the grains being kei)t in tight feed-boxes which can be kept clean, 
and with other conditions favorable to the hcalthfulncss of the cow, 
no valid objection can be raised against this form of feed. From 
20 to 30 pounds of wet grains should constitute a day's allowance." 

Feeding Pumpkins. 

What is the proper way to feed pumpkins to coivs? Some say to 
cut them in halves; zvhile others say they must be chopped fine enough 
so that the cozvs cannot choke on them. Sotne tell me the seeds tend 
to dry the cows up, and should not be fed zvith pumpkins. 

Pumpkins should be either cut in halves or broken in large 
fragments so that the stock can get a bite at them or else should 
be chopped fine, and we could never see the advantage of gfjing to 
that trouble. Cutting into medium-sized pieces is dangerous because 
of the temptation to swallow them whole and tlius getting choked. 
It is not necessary to remove the seeds. 

Feeding a Family Cow. 

What shall I feed family Jersey cozu in addition to alfalfa hay tc 
insure a good supply of milk? 

One of the best things to feed in addition to alfalfa hay is a 
couple of quarts of middling or bran twice a day, with which is 
mixed a cup of molasses with enough water to make a nice paste. 
Dried beet pulp is exceptionally good with alfalfa, if it is available, 
this also to be moistened before feeding. 

Rolled Barley for Cows. 

Will rolled barley hurt milk cozvs, say tzvo light feeds a day? Will 
it not do about as much good as the same amount of bran? 

Certainly not and otherwise will be good if not used in excess 
to encourage fattening. Bran is a better feed for milk because it 
has a higher protein content. 



208 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Horse Beans and Pie-melons. 

Would it pay me to raise Iiorse beans for fattening hogs? Horse 
beans do well. Would citrons do tvell there zuithout irrigation, and 
would they be better than stock-beets for hog feed? 

We do not promise anyone that anytliing will pay. Horse- 
beans are good with other feeds for hogs. Theoretically, they will 
balance well with pie-melons and beets, and both the latter will 
produce well on good land with proper cultivation in the valley you 
mention. Theoretically, also, we would rather have beets than pie- 
melons. The hogs will tell you the rest. 

Horse Beans. 

Are "horse beans" a leguminous crop and how does their feeding 
value for hogs compare to cowpeas and Canadian Held peas? 

They surely are legumes, and they resemble so closely in com- 
position the other legumes which you mention that their feeding 
value would be practically the same. 

Storing Stock Beets. 

What is the best method of storing stock beets and stock carrots in 
this climate? We can let them remain in the ground and grozv until 
February or March and ivoiild like to preserve them for feeding as long 
as possible. 

Stock beets and carrots can be stored in California without re- 
course to covering with ground or use of a cellar. They keep very 
well during the winter if piled under cover in such a way as to 
keep cool and dry. 

Kale for Cow Feed. 

What is kale zvorth for cozv feed as compared with alfalfa, also can 
it be cut and cured the same as alfalfa and zvhat variety is the best? 

Kale is very similar to cabbage in growth, and for feeding pur- 
poses. For cow feed it would have about three-fourths the amount 
of digestible nutrients as green alfalfa, but would have an added 
value on account of its succulcncy. It would go especially well with 
alfalfa hay. The Jersey or Thousand-Headed kale is considered the 
standard for stock or poultry feed. It is always fed fresh and is 
not made into hay. 

What Kind of Beet for Stock? 

Which zvould be most valuable to plant on river-bottom land for 
cattle and hog feed, sugar beets or mangels? 

Grow a large stock of beet by all means — either a mangel or a 
tankard. Usually you will get more weight than with sugar beets; 
the cost of harvesting is far less, and the nuritive contents high 
enough. 



Feeding Farm Animals 209 

Keeping Pumpkins. 

What is the best zvay of storing pumpkins, under ordinary farm 
conditions, in a climate such as zve have here in northern California? I 
have no facilities for cold storage. 

All you have to do in this climate to keep pumpkins is to keep 
them out of reach of the stock. They do not need storage of any 
kind, but will keep in good condition during the late autumn and 
winter months in any open-air place where they may be convenient 
for feeding purposes. In parts of California where there is hard 
ground freezing, protection must be given by covering with boards 
or straw or any other material available. We have no need for root 
cellars or cold storage, for our winter temperatures are neither high 
nor low enough to hurt them. 

Grape Pomace as Hog Feed. 

What is the value of grape pomace as a hog feed? 

It has been sold for 50 cents a ton as it comes from the press 
at the winery and when a person has not got any surplus of other 
feeds, it is evidently worth that and then some. The only way to 
feed it is to put it up in a big pile and let the hogs take it as they 
want it. It will help keep them growing through the winter pro- 
vided they have other feed with it that might not be sufficient with- 
out the pomace. 

Proper Feeding of Young Pigs. 

// / put two 50-pound shoats to an acre of barley that will yield 
10 or 12 sacks of grain, how many months could they be kept there to 
advantage, and what gain could I expect them to make in that time? 

If the pigs have been properly fed and were of good stock, they 
should have attained a weight of 50 pounds at three or four months 
of age. Pigs in this condition would be more likely to lose than 
gain turned on a dry barley field, even if the yield were double what 
you state. Barley is an excellent fattener for mature hogs, but is a 
poor food for young growing pigs. Young pigs should have a 
balanced ration, which may be defined as a little of almost all kinds 
of feed and not all of any one kind. We have pigs running on a 
barley field such as you describe, and in addition to the barley we 
feed them once a day a slop composed of wheat middling and bran 
in equal parts by measurement, to which we add about 8 per cent 
tankage, and they seem to be moving along nicely. Without the 
slop we don't think they would hold their own. — Chas. Goodman. 

Pie-melons and Pigs. 

/ have 14 sozvs which zucre fed almost entirely on pie-melons and 
milk, not much of the latter. Out of the 14, only 3 sows have saved any 
pigs; the rest lost all the young they had. Four or five sozvs that for 
the last three weeks have had no melons, nothing but green grass and 
a little whole barley each day, are saving their pigs all right. 



210 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Pie-melons are poor feed and pigs which are not given anything 
better ought to fail. "Green grass and a little whole barley" is much 
better feed than pie-melons. Pie-melons are useful fed with alfalfa 
hay or some richer food. 

Wheat or Barley for Hogs. 

Which would be the better grain for me to buy for hog feed; wheat 
at $1.30 per hundred, or barley at $1? Would it be zvorth paying 10 
cents a hundred for rolling, and then haul the grain 8 miles by zvagonf 

Wheat is only considered about 10 per cent more valuable as a 
hog feed than barley, so that in your case, barley at $1 is the 
cheaper. In Bulletin 80 of the Oregon Station it was found that 
crushed wheat was 29 per cent more efficient than the whole grain, 
and it is safe to say that barley will run about the same, enough 
so at any rate to pay the extra 10 cents a hundred for crushing 
and the hauling. 

Grain and Pasture for Pigs. 

What is the most profitable amotint of grain to feed to spring pigs 
zvhile on alfalfa pasture, from the time of zveaning to the time of mar- 
keting? 

We doubt the profit of feeding whole grain to hogs of any age 
while on green pasture. On almost all kinds of land they will get 
enough grit to keep their teeth sore, hence they will not masticate 
the grain thoroughly. Perfect mastication is very essential. We 
would feed the pigs all the slop that they would clean up good 
twice a day. The slop to be composed of equal parts of corn, barley 
meal ground fine, and wheat middlings mixed with milk. There is 
nothing in all the world like milk for growing pigs. If milk is not 
to be had, we would add from 5 to 10 per cent meat meal, which we 
consider next to milk. If whole grain is to be used, it should be 
thoroughly cooked on account of the pigs' teeth not being in con- 
dition to chew the hard grain. — Chas. Goodman. 

Growing Pigs on Roots and Barley. 

We can raise all kinds of root crops, such as carrots, sugar beets, 
rutabagas, etc., and cow peas and pumpkins do ivonderfully well. Will 
hogs do well on that kind of diet, especially if given a little barley with 
it? 

The plants that you mention are good for hog feeding and can 
be used to advantage with a little barley as you suggest. None of 
these plants are, however, rich in protein as alfalfa and the other 
clovers are. The reason why we get such a rapid and satisfactory 
growth of young hogs in California is due to the fact that they are 
largely kept on alfalfa and rapid growth is the product of a suf- 
ficient protein content in the fodder. Both common field peas and 
cowpeas do not possess this element, and if you can grow them they 



Feeding Farm Animals 211 

will serve as a substitute for the other legumes, such as alfalfa. 
If you are feeding skim-milk, which is rich in protein, roots and 
grain will go well with that. 

Wheat and Barley for Feeding. 

What is the difference in the feeding value of zvheat and barley for 
hogs and horses f 

There is very little difference in the chemical composition of 
wheat and barley. In their physical condition there is much dififer- 
ence, chiefly because of the adhering chaff of the barley, which 
makes it more digestible because it separates the starchy mass and 
enables the gastric juice to work upon the particles more readily 
and quickly. Oats also have this character. This is very important 
in the case of horses, which can quickly be put out of condition by 
feeding wheat. For hogs and chickens it makes much less difference, 
and the absence of the chaff gives a greater amount of nutritive 
matter to the ton, so that wheat is worth more at the same ton price. 
But look out about giving horses too much wheat. 



PART VII. DISEASES OF ANIMALS 



Abscess of Parotid Gland. 

My horse has had a bad cold and it has a large lump on its neck 
which keeps running and does not seem to get any better; it has been 
running for two weeks. 

This horse has an abscess of the parotid gland and the abscess 
should be opened large enough so that the finger can be introduced 
to break down adhesions, so that proper drainage can be established, 
after which wash out with a 5 per cent solution of permanganate of 
potash. As this is a dangerous location for a layman to interfere 
with, owing to the branching of the carotid artery, pneumogastric 
nerve and jugular vein, it should be done by a qualified veterinarian. 

Forage Poisoning. 

Last fall one of our horses was taken ill and had a swollen jaw. 
He died soon and we supposed that he had been kicked and died of 
lockjaw. This spring another was taken ill. He began dragging around, 
making an effort to eat and drink, but not being able to swallow much. 
Something seemed ivrong zvith his throat and his hind legs. In two or 
three days he got down, seeming to have no strength in his back. He 
kept struggling for two days, not being able to swallow much; so we 
put him out of his misery. Since then two others have gone off the 
same way. 

The trouble is due to forage poisoning, caused by the eating 
food infested with poisonous moulds. The symptoms are inability to 
swallow (paralysis of the muscles of deglutition) and paresis of the 
hind and forequarters. When the symptoms become advanced, treat- 
ment is of little avail. However, further troubles can be prevented 
by ascertaining the food which is infested with this mould. Ofttimes, 
however, such food may be apparently clean to the eye. Make a 
complete change of food and a thorough cleaning of your stable 
and corrals of all old fodder which might be in the mangers, or in 
any accessible place. Very frequently old food which is left in the 
bottom of mangers becomes mouldy, and horses picking for grain 
which might be left in it, eat considerable quantities of this spoiled 
fodder, get poisoned. 



*This division is largely compiled from the writings of Dr. E. J. 
Creely of the San Francisco Veterinary College. 



Diseases of Animals 213 

For a Scabby Swelling. 

One of my cows has a swelling on her hind leg with little scab^ 
oil it, first it was on the front leg. It is as big as your hand. 

Use the following, applied once daily: Olive oil, 1 pint; tur- 
pentine, 2 ounces; oil cedar, 2 ounces; lysol, 1 ounce; mix and apply. 

An Easement in Bloat. 

What can be done for bloating? 

It does not seem to be generally known that to put a bridle on 
a cow or put a stick in her mouth and tie tightly with a string or 
strap up over her head, so as to keep her jaws working, will relieve 
bloat. We have given common soda and salt with good results to 
our milk cows. Take a whip and run her around the corral, after 
giving the soda. This treatment causes the wind to pass off. 

Fatal Skin Disease. 

About two months ago a horse zvas turned out in pasture. Several 
of the horses in the pasture started to lose their hair. It seemed to fall 
away from the hide, and leave the skin exposed. The horse that zvas 
newly turned to pasture got the same disease and died. The other horses 
did not die. The hair on the horse that had died had fallen off from 
the sides and hind legs. 

This is gangrenous dermatis, a gangrenout inflammation of the 
skin. It is due to mould, must or vegetable fungi. Remove to a 
new pasture, give food free from the fungi, and apply the following 
ointment to the skin: Lanoline, 8 ounces; zinc oxide, 1 ounce; 
Pearson's Creoline, J^ ounce; tannin, 3 drachms; mix and apply once 
daily. 

Shoulder Injury on Mare. 

A young mare that bruised her shoulder on the point with collar. 
It was lanced and now has a hard lump or callous, about three inches 
in diameter. What is best to do? She is not lame, but it would inter- 
fere with the collar. 

Get a qualified veterinarian to operate and entirely remove the 
growth or you may use the following mixture to see if it will not 
cause it to partly absorb and then use a dutch collar or a specially 
padded collar: Compound tinct. iodine, 4 ounces; sulphuric ether, 2 
ounces; oil cedar, 2 ounces; turpentine, 4 ounces; mix and apply 
once daily until blistered. 

Horse with Worms. 

What is the best remedy for a horse that has worms? I would like 
to know, as I have a horse that is getting poor with this trouble. 

Mix ^ pound pulverized and dried iron sulphate and Yz pound 
bicarbonate of soda, and give one teaspoonful each morning until the 



214 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

medicine is gone. After the last dose give the following: Turpen- 
tine, 2 ounces; fluid extract male fern, ^ ounce; Pearson's Creolins, 
1 ounce; raw linseed oil, 1 pint. Mix and give all at one dose. To 
improve the general condition one may give artificial Carlsbad salts, 
1 tablespoonful in each feed, and each dose to have added to it 3 
to 5 grains arsenious acid. If plenty rock salt is allowed for horses 
to lick, they will be protected against intestinal parasites to a slight 
but useful degree. 

Is It Mange? 

We have a horse five years old that is alzi>ays scratching and biting 
himself as if he had mange or lice. He seems to itch more on his should- 
ers and front legs than any other place. We have zvashed him with a 
carbolic wash, also zvith a tea made from tobacco, but so far have been 
unable to stop it. He often bites his legs below the knees until he takes 
off all the hair and part of the skin. None of the other horses are, 
troubled, although this horse has been troubled for three years. 

Apply the following: Lysol, 1 ounce; kerosene, 4 ounces; for- 
malin, 2 drachms; cotton seed oil, 9 ounces. Mix and apply once 
daily after washing with hot sheep dip solution 10 to 100. 

Horse with Itch. 

For about a year my horse has been itching so badly that he has 
rubbed off all the hair on certain parts of his body. Lately he bites 
his tail. 

Whitewash the stall once weekly, scrub the harness, brushes, 
combs and every stable appliance that he has come in contact with. 
Don't use the same appliance on other animals that you use on this 
horse. Use the following mixture once daily on affected spots: 
Milk of sulphur, 4 ounces; tincture of iodine, 4 ounces; turpentine, 
4 ounces; kerosene, 16 ounces; cottonseed oil, 120 ounces. 

For a Bowel Trouble. 

What can I do to relieve a horse that balls up on alfalfa at the time 
of the first symptoms? I have been bothered considerably with this, and 
although I knozv the symptoms, I can never seem to relieve the pain 
before the veterinary is called. 

Give the following prescription: Fluid extract Cannabis Indica, 
3 ounces; sulphuric ether, 2 ounces; spirits turpentine, 3 ounces; oil 
peppermint, 10 drops; raw linseed oil, 24 ounces. Mix. Give one- 
half at once, balance in one hour. If not relieved give several hot- 
water soap-sud injections. 

Abnormal Thirst of Horse. 

/ have a horse zvith an abnormal desire for water. I notice that in 
drinking she alzvays wants more than the others. I also notice she per- 
spires more freely in the harness and even will szvcat in the barn at 
night. 



Diseases of Animals 215 

Your horse has kidney aflfection, probably due to feeding hay 
rich in alkalines. Treatment: Change the feed and give 1 quart 
of thick flaxseed tea three times daily. 

Scours. 

Kindly recommend a treatment for a horse troubled zvith scours. He 
is on dry feed, hut the trouble continues. 

Give very little water mornings and while worked, but give 
plenty at night. Feed dry rolled oats, oat hay, one handful of whole 
flaxseed at night, and the following powder: Bismuth subgalate, 
4 ounces; iron sulphate, dessicated, 8 ounces; bismuth subnitrate, 
8 ounces. Mix, and give a heaping teaspoonful each morning. 

Depraved Appetite. 

/ have a colt about one year old that continually delights in chewing 
up harness, ropes, chews on the manger and, in fact, anything it can get 
a hold of. 

This is a condition caused by something being lacking in the 
system (lime, salts, etc.). Give plenty of salt, good food, grain, etc. 
Get this prescription: Iron sulphate, 2 ounces; soda syposulphate, 4 
ounces; Gentian root pulv., 2 ounces; ginger, 1 ounce. Mix and give 
teaspoonful daily. 

Good Dentist Needed. 

/ have an old horse zvhich has ahvays been fat and quite full of life 
until right lately. Now he is getting thin and looks had. He cats his 
food all right. I had his teeth fixed a few weeks ago. The man said 
they were bad and he fixed them as ivell as he could. 

There is probably an excessively long molar projecting into a 
cavity and the projecting molar should be cut ofif by a qualified 
veterinarian. The horse will begin to pick up and grow fat almost 
as soon as the condition is relieved. Most horse owners will permit 
every person with a float to ruin a horse's mouth without inquiring 
whether the dentist possesses proper qualifications as certified by 
a State license and diploma. 

Kidney Trouble. 

My horse has some trouble in passing water. What can I give him 
that may be put in the mash? I don't think his trouble is due all to 
old age, for it didn't come on gradually. 

Give gran, sal nitre: a teaspoonful daily in water is good to 
stimulate the kidneys. 

For Chronic Indigestion. 

/ have given my horse condition powders for indigestion, but her 
hair is rough still. Do you advise feeding on the road when a horse 
leaves the stable at lo a. m., traveling continually for thirty miles, re- 
turning 5:30 p. m., being fed at 7 a. m.f 



216 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

A great majority of condition powders contain resin and anti- 
mony. While a slight amount may be beneficial, continued use re- 
sults in affection of the kidneys by over-stimulation. Give the fol- 
lowing for indigestion: Bismuth subintrate, 1 ounce; powdered 
pepsine, 1 ounce; soda bi carbonate, 12 ounces; carbonate iron, 2 
ounces. Mix and give a heaping teaspoon twice daily. By all means 
feed your horse three times daily and water as often as you can. 
It is unnecessary to warn yon that the horse must not be overheated 
when you give the noonday feed. 

Wound Sore. 

My colt got its hind leg cut on barbed zvire some zvechs ago. There 
is a hole about an inch and one-half deep in the center of the sore which 
will not heal. The inside of the sore does not seem very tender, but the 
leg stays swollen all of the time and is somewhat feverish. 

This is probably a fistulous track that should be curetted by a 
veterinarian, after which the following formula could be used to heal: 
Acetanilide, H ounce; zinc oxide, % ounce; bismuth subgalate, 1% 
ounce. Mix and apply on cotton and bandage once daily after wash- 
ing. 

Warts on Horse. 

Hozv can zvarts be removed from a horse's hide? 

We use sulphuric acid. The results were favorable from the 
very start. The warts rapidly shrunk away and finally disappeared 
entirely. The acid is applied to the crown of the wart with a small 
swab or similar instrument, and only in sufficient quantities to wet 
the crown surface of the wart. It should be applied about three times 
a week until the wart is well reduced. Don't use too much acid, and 
don't keep up the application too long. — A. F. Etter. 

Kidney Trouble in Horse. 

What is the remedy for a horse that stops often to urinate zvhile 
' zvorking? 

The horse is affected by an irritation of the kidneys. Give 1 
quart of flaxseed tea daily, change the food and give 1 drachm of 
C. P. hydro-chloric acid in one bucket of drinking water. 

Castration of Colt. 

Which is the correct and best zvay to castrate a yearling colt, zvith 
an cmasculator or a blade, and when is the proper time? 

An emasculator is the only instrument to use in castrating. The 
object in using any instrument is to prevent a hemorrhage, and noth- 
ing works with so much certainty and quickness. The A. Hausman 
and Dunn emasculator is recommended. The proper time is when the 
weather is mild, the grass at its best and the colt in good condition. 



Diseases of Animals 217 

For a Chronic Cough. 

IVc have a marc seven years old that is troubled ivith a chronic 
cough, and at times shozvs symptoms of heaves, and also has occasionally 
a ivliite foamy discharge from tlic nostrils. She is a greedy cater and 
drinker and her excreta is often- very offensive. 

If she expels flatus wlien she coughs, this would indicate a pre- 
disposition to heaves. Wet all food, as dry or dusty food aggravates 
the cough. Give the following: Spirits camphor, 4 ounces; Fl. Ext. 
belladonna, 2 ounces; neutral oil, 8 ounces; oil eucalyptus, 2 ounces. 
Mix and give tablespoonful three times daily. 

Chronic Indigestion. 

/ have a mare eleven years old. Give her plenty of oats, hay, grain 
and a little alfalfa hay three nights per week and leave salt where she 
can get at it, but she is falling off and her hair does not lie down 
properly. She eats well and her system seems to be in good condition. 
Have had her teeth attended to so she chews her food well. 

This condition is caused by the animal not being able to properly 
masticate the food. Have your dentist examine the mouth again, or 
you can carefully examine the feces and see if it shows whole grain, 
or long pieces of hay. 

For Short-Wind or Heaves. 

/ have a mare that has something wrong with her wind. About six 
months ago I noticed her wind was not good and she had a slight cough, 
and about a iveek later, while zvorking her, she seemed to choke down 
and almost died before she got her wind, and since then she sometimes 
takes those spells should she trot off briskly for a short distance. 

Give two ^-ounce doses of Fowler's solution arsenic daily. Dusty 
or musty hay will aggravate the symptoms. Thoroughly shake out the 
dust and wet the hay. Feed hay only at night. Give the animal as 
little feed and water as possible before being put to work. Continue 
this treatment one month if necessary. The following is a case of 
experience with this treatment: For a remedial agent we began to 
use Fowler's Solution of Arsenic, in two teaspoonful doses at first. 
once a day, put in the water with which the hay was moistened. 
These doses were given for a few days, then skipped for a day, then 
continued for five or six days again. This treatment has been con- 
tinued. At times when the trouble was most severe, giving a great 
spoonful at a dose, twice a day for two days, then stopping for a day 
or two, always being sure to mix it with the water which the hay 
is moistened, so that it shall be taken into the stomach very slowly. 
This course of treatment has served to so relieve the disease that 
nature has nearly or quite overcome it. 

Side-Bone. 

/ have a 1500-pound 3-year-old colt with small brittle feet that has 
side bone coming on left front foot caused by driving him barefoot on 
the road two or three months ago. 



218 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

A good blister of the following once every six weeks for three 
times will stop the side-bones from growing. Side-bones on a draft 
horse are not considered an unsoundness; in light fast drivers it is 
an incurable blemish causing lameness. Side-bones cannot be re- 
moved. Use this blister: Simple cerate, 4 ounces; cantharides, 3 
drachms; bin iodide mercury, 2 drachms. Mix thoroughly and apply 
after clipping hair. 

Fungus Poisoning. 

One of my mares, every evening after a full day's ivork harrowing, 
stands for an hour or so zvith her head to the ground, shaking it frequently 
and not tottching the feed till the spell was over. She does not seem to 
be any worse off, and in the morning seems to be in good shape. 

This is due to a mold or fungus in the earth or hay. Let them 
have access to plenty of water during the day. In the morning feed 
give a handful of sodium hyposulphate. 

Treatment for Horse's Feet. 

The soles of the fore feet of a fine 4-year-old horse, iveiglit 1350, 
are rather spongy and grozu down faster than the hoof, sometimes causing 
slight lameness. He is not on soft pasture, but is stabled all the time. 
Now have bar shoes on him. What treatment do you recommend? 

Use leather, tar and okum and a dish-shoe. 

For a Cleft Hoof. 

/ have a horse with a cracked hoof. One hind foot has been in a 
bad condition, the other seems to be beginning to crack. Can anything be 
done by feeding or otherwise to toughen the hoofs and render them less 
liable to crack f 

Apply the following: Honey, 2 ounces; yellow wax, 4 ounces; 
tar, 2 ounces; olive oil, 8 ounces. Melt, mix and apply once daily. 

Stiff Joints. 

/ have a horse that was bruised on the ankle about two years ago. 
This is noiv producing an enlargement of the bone and stiffness of the 
joint. 

Apply the following liniment: Sulphuric ether, 1 ounce; tinct. 
iodine, 1 ounce; pulv. camphor, 1 ounce; alcohol, 5 ounces; turpentine, 
2 ounces; oil of cedar, 2 ounces. 

Treatment for Nail Puncture. 

Our horse got a nail in his foot. It was a zmre nail, rusty, entering 
about one inch from the point of the frog, and just puncturing far enough 
to reach a sensitive part of the hoof. It occurred six days ago; the nail 
was pulled at once, the hoof cut open, and thoroughly cleaned zvith tur- 
pentine (the first thing we could get), then later filled with iodine. Since 
then I have kept on a flaxseed poultice. 



Diseases of Animals 219 

The treatment with turpentine and iodine was proper and should 
prove a success. If the foot becomes tender and inflamed, it will 
be because all dirt was not removed from the wound, and the poul- 
tice should be taken off, all foreign matter removed from the wound, 
and the treatment repeated. In case of similar accidents, other dis- 
infectants could be used in place of turpentine or iodine. 

Pregnancy of Mare. 

Is there any way to tell when a mare is in foal? I have had a 
veterinarian and he could not tell me. 

There is no very good way to tell whether a mare is in foal for 
some time. Practically speaking, the safest way to do is to have her 
bred every time she comes in heat until she takes the stallion no longer. 
Even then some mares will come in heat a couple of times after get- 
ting in foal. If the sexual excitement speedily subsides and the mare 
persistently refuses the stallion for a month, she is probably pregnant, 
though not surely so. Also if a vicious mare becomes gentle after 
service it is an excellent indication of pregnancy; likewise pregnant 
mares will very often put on fat rapidly after conception and will 
be unable and unwilling to do as hard work as before. Enlargement 
of the abdomen, especially in its lower third, with slight falling in 
beneath the loins and hollowness of the back are significant symptoms, 
though they may be entirely absent. Swelling and firmness of the 
udder, with the smoothing out of its wrinkles, is a suggestive sign, 
even though it appears only at intervals during gestation. A steady 
increase of weight (1J4 pounds daily) about the fourth or fifth month 
is a useful indication of pregnancy. The further along the mare is 
in gestation the more pronounced the symptoms become. In the early 
stages it is naturally much more difficult to detect, especially with the 
great differences in different mares. Cessation of heat and changes 
of disposition are about the best signs in early stages. 

Diseased Uterus of Mare. 

/ have a brood mare that has given me tzvo fine colts, but for the 
last tzvo years I have not been able to get her with foal. She takes service 
and then refuses service for three or four months, and about the time 
I come to the conclusion that she is safe with foal she will pass off great 
quantities of mattery substance. I have had her thoroughly washed out 
with Lysol previous to breeding, but so far S'he has repeated this per- 
formance each time about three or four months after service. 

This is a disease of the ovaries or uterus; perhaps mumification 
of a foetus. Irrigate with anormal salt solution (teaspoon salt to 
each pint of warm water) only daily. Insert the solution through 
the neck of the womb into the uterus. Give internally J/2 ounce daily 
of Fowler's Solution of Arsenic. 

Deep-Seated Abscess. 

/ have a mule which has a swelling on the throat about rvhcre the 
throatlatch touches. It just seems to be swollen hard and not sore. I 



220 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

am using caustic liniment to fester it so it zvill come to a head and I 
can open it, but the liniment does not seem to do much good. The mule 
is losing flesh and does not eat much. 

This mnle should be operated upon at once by a qualified veter- 
inarian. The application of liniments or blisters are useless; the knife 
only will efifect a cure. The fact that the mule is losing flesh makes 
the case serious. 

Cure for Cocked Ankles. 

/ have a 4-ycar-old mare that has cocked ankles, and tvould like to 
knoiv tvhat treatment to give her. 

Cocked ankles are due to an inflammation of the tendons back 
of the ankle and a drawing up or contraction in consequence. Put 
on heel calks one inch, no toe, to rest and relieve the back tendons 
from strain. Apply the following liniment at night, after which put 
on cold-water swabs and let them remain all night: Soap liniment, 
8 ounces; tincture iodine, 2 ounces; oil cedar, 4 ounces; sulphuric 
ether, 2 ounces. Mix and apply once daily. 

Dehorning. 

JVIiich is the best imy tu dclwrn cows and calves? 

The best time to dehorn cows is in the spring, before the fly 
season starts. It is best not to have a cow too far along in calf 
before dehorning, as she is very apt to lose her calf. It is also better 
to dehorn before your cows freshen, because when cows are milking 
and are dehorned they will go back in their milk a great deal for the 
first month after the dehorning has taken place. Calves can be de- 
horned by blistering the little buttons before they adhere to the 
skull. This is very simple and not painful. First clip the hair about 
the horns and wet the little loose button and apply caustic potash, 
in stick form, by rubbing it on the damp horn. Remember, this must 
be done before the horn adheres to the skull. Also remember not to 
use water enough to run the lye away from the button and rub until 
the skin reddens. Also, look out to keep your end of the potash 
stick dry or you may dehorn the tips of your fingers. 

Paralysis During Pregnancy. 

/ have a cozv that will freshen in a fczv days. About six days ago 
she seemed zveak in her hind legs and on going doivnhill zvould drag or 
stumble for 10 or 12 feet, then catch herself and go on rather zvobbly. 

Pregnant animals about to bring forth their young sometimes 
show a paralysis or loss of power in their hind parts due to pressure 
of foetus. Nature corrects this after birth. 

Bloody Milk. 

What can be done to stop bloody milk? 

Milk each teat in a separate glass jar, let stand to ascertain which 
teat the red specks are coming from, then milk the teats clean and 



Diseases of Animals 221 

inject the infected teat with equal parts of hydrogen dioxide and water. 
After a few hours inject 4 drachms of ferric chloride in 1 ounce of 
water. Then milk clean. 

To Cleanse Cows. 

My cows are healthy and calves all right, but seem to have trouble 
throwing the afterbirth. 

Wash out twice daily with about 1 gallon of normal salt solu- 
tion (teaspoonful of salt to each pint of warm water). Give in- 
ternally the following powder: Pulv. gentian, 4 ounces; puv. slippery 
elm, 1 ounce; puv. charcoal, 1 ounce; pulv. hyposulphate of soda. 
8 ounces. Mix and give a heaping teaspoonful twice daily. 

Treatment for Caked Bag. 

/ have a cow whose udder is caked hard and has been swollen from 
the udder to the forelegs. This latter sivelUng has gone dozvn by apply- 
ing equal mixture of turpentine and lard, but the udder itself still remains 
hard. When first noticed, one teat caked, then another, until all four 
are caked alike. 

Insert a milk tube and inject the following: Hydrogen dioxide, 
8 ounces; tincture iron chloride, 1 ounce; water, 7 ounces. Inject 
into each affected teat. Apply the following externally : Camphorated oil, 
8 ounces ; tincture belladonna, 2 ounces ; oil eucalyptus, 2 ounces. Mix 
and apply twice daily. 

Garget. 

/ have a coiv ivhich gave rich milk all the time, hut noiv every time 
I milk her some yellozv, hard substance zvill come out instead of milk. 
First from one teat, then the next, and zvhen I strain the milk the strainer 
zvill be full of hard yellow specks. 

Your cow has undoubtedly been afifected with garget. This 
milk should not be used. The condition is best treated by massag- 
ing the udder every day with camphorated oil. It will also be 
necessary for you to continue to milk her regularly until about six 
weeks before she is due to freshen, at which time you should pro- 
ceed to dry her up. 

Infectious Mastitis. 

We have a 2-year-old heifer, zvhich, two zvecks before she was due 
to freshen, had a large udder slightly caked. Upon pressing the teat a 
discharge of blood issues from each teat. 

This is infectious mastitis. It may be due to a bruise or blow 
or infection introduced through the milk duct. The first is most 
likely. Apply camphorated oil externally and inject into the affected 
udder some hydrogen dioxide (peroxide of hydrogen. — Editor.). 
After ten minutes, milk out again. Repeat once daily. 

A Mangy Cow. 

/ have a milk cow with some trouble about her head, neck and 
shoulders, which causes her to rub herself enough to make raw spots and 



222 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

take off most all of the hair from the parts affected. The trouble has 
been standing for i8 months, but I have been using medicine at different 
times, zvhich stops the rubbing, and the part zvill cover with hair nicely 
again, but in due time the trouble shoivs up again. 

This cow seems to have mange or scabbies, which is caused by 
a parasite and is easily spread by contact to other cattle. It should 
be treated by two or three applications, ten days apart, of a hot 
solution of creolin, well scrubbed into the skin. The solution is 
made by mixing five tablespoonfuls of creoHn in a gallon of hot 
water. The treatment should be applied pretty well over the body 
to cover all the afifected parts, and needs to be repeated in ten days 
to destroy the younger generation. The sheds should be cleaned 
and whitewashed. 

Irritation on Back of Udder. 

/ have a yearling heifer which has sore teats and blotches just back 
of her bag which seem to itch. Her mother had a sort of eczema on her 
neck. I fear her sore teats ivill spoil her for milking when she comes in 
next year. 

The following treatment is advised: Drench with 1 pound of 
Epsom salts dissolved in a couple quarts of water. The sores may 
be treated by washing them with a 2 per cent solution of one of the 
coaltar disinfectants, such as creolin. After the sores have been 
allowed to dry naturally, a very little powdered calomel may be 
dusted thereon. Do this every other day for a few days. 

Enlarged Gland on Neck. 

/ have a calf that has a lump on her neck, luhich appeared zvhen she 
zvas tzvo days old. The lump is getting larger. 

This is probably an enlarged thyroid gland. Apply the follow- 
ing once daily for several weeks and let it alone unless it becomes 
too large or gets very soft, which is unlikely. Churchill's tincture 
iodine, 8 ounces; turpentine, 1 ounce; sulphuric ether, 2 ounces; oil 
aniseed, J/2 ounce. Mix and apply once daily. 

Lumpy Jaw. 

Some of my cows have hard lumps on their jazvs, or lumpy jaiv. Can 
that be cured, and hozv? 

This is Actinomycosis (lumpy jaw) and is due to ray fungi 
(actinomyces) which are found originally on plants which enter the 
body in various ways. The trouble usually appears in the upper or 
lower jaws of cattle, where it generally produces tumors of bone or 
soft tissues. For treatment give V/i drachms of iodide of potash in I/2 
pint of water daily for 14 days. Increase to 2 drachms for 14 more 
days, and then gradually decrease. Divide the tumor and insert gauze 
saturated with tincture of iodine for 4 days. In 8 days a visible im- 
provement will be noticed. 



Diseases of Animals 223 

A Neck-Swelling. 

My cow has a swelling under her neck between her jaw bones about 
the size of a baseball and almost as hard.. It is not attached to anything 
apparently, but largely suspended by the skin at the entrance to the throat. 

Cut directly through the center of the enlargement, clean to the 
bottom, splitting it wide open. Clean it out with peroxide of hydrogen, 
after which saturate absorbent cotton with tincture iodine, pack in tight 
and sew the skin to hold it in place. Remove the dressing in 48 hours 
and wash with sheep dip (tablespoon to 1 quart of warm water) twice 
daily. This may be tubercular, or the result of foxtail, etc. 

Cow Chewing Bones. 

One of my cows is continually chewing bones. What can I do to 
prevent it? 

Give the cow good clean hay; some root crop, cocoanut meal, 
bran or soy-bean meal. If the cow does not stop mix in the drink- 
ing water twice daily a little dilute hydrochloric acid. Also, have 
boxes arranged near feeding stalls which contain wood ashes, slaked 
lime and salt. 

Swelling on the Dewlap. 

/ have a cozv that has a large lump at the point of the breastbone, 
the dezvlap. This lump is as large as a cocoanut, and was caused, I 
think, by friction against a low manger in eating. 

Get equal parts of tincture of iodine and soap liniment and rub 
onto the swelling twice daily for a week. 

Barren Heifers. 

/ have three heifers, 3 years old, which have run with the bull right 
along and have failed with calf; have had three different bulls to them; 
■ what can be done? 

There is a possibility of contagious abortion causing these heifers 
to fail to breed. If this has occurred in the herd, the heifers are 
very apt to be afJected. If apparently healthy, reduce tTie feed and 
make the heifers take considerable exercise to reduce flesh. Give 
each a dram of powdered nux vomica and one-half dram of dried 
sulphate of iron once daily in a little feed. Breed to a healthy bull 
when the heifers come in heat. 

A Sterile Cow. 

/ have a very Une Jersey cow. I have had her to the bull every 
month, and can't get her with calf. 

In an isolated case of this kind there is probably some disease of 
the generative organs or some condition whereby the impregnation 
cannot occur even when the animal is bred. The ovaries may be 
cystic; there may be chronic inflammation of the womb and possibly 
the mouth of the womb was injured at last calf birth and the scar 



224 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

prevents its admitting the fertilizing cells. If possible, a veterinarian 
should make a careful examination of this cow in order to determine 
what the trouble is. However, this treatment may be tried: About 
the time of coming in heat, give the cow a large dose of glaubers 
salts (one pound) and the nux vomica and iron treatment advised 
for "Barren Heifers" in another paragraph. Before breeding the cow, 
apply a little extract of belladonna and glycerine to the mouth of the 
womb and breed a few hours after. 

Supernumerary Teat. 

On the upper part of one of the hind teats of a young Jersey cow 
that freshened recently for the iirst time, there is a small grozvth from 
which the milk conies more plentifully than from the natural opening 
below. How, if at all, can this opening be closed zvithout drying the 
cow? The milk from it runs all over the milker's hand and makes 
milking very disagreeable. 

The only thing that can be done until the cow is dry is to tie 
the small teat up before milking. This can be done with a string, 
rubber band, or an ordinary clamp. If it is so small that the opening 
cannot be tied, there is nothing to do, except, perhaps to use her 
as a nurse for calves. Two of these might run with her at a time, 
making way for others as soon as they are able to look after them- 
selves. Quite a number of calves can sometimes be handled in a 
single year by a cow afifected this way and the benefit to the calves 
might be nearly as much as by using the cow for butter production. 
When the cow is dry the teat can be amputated and the opening will 
close when the sore heals, or a stick of lunar caustic can be inserted 
into it, causing a wound that will heal solid. 

Infection of Udder. 

Last year one of my cows had milk fever which affected her udder. 
This year after freshening she milked two months zvhen she suddenly 
went dry on one side of her udder. She is now badly stiffened up in 
her hind quarters and off her feed. 

The cow has infectious mastitis due to introduction of some in- 
fection. Give a saline purge (1 pound glauber salt), inject peroxide 
of hydrogen, after which pump in sterile air. Apply externally 
camphorated oil once daily. Camphorated oil has a tendency to dry 
up the secretion of the gland and is used advisedly. 

Lumps in Teats. 

My coiv has hard lumps in her teats and lower part of the bag. 
These cause pain to her on milking, but there are no other symptoms 
of disorder. This condition has prevailed several months. 

Give 1 drachm iodide potash daily for one week; 2 drachms the 
second week; 3 drachms the third week, and reduce as you began. 
If tumors are small and interfere with the flow of milk they can be 
removed. 



PiSEASES OF Animals 225 

Wound in Teat. 

/ have a coiv zvith an open slit about one-fourth to one-third of an 
inch in the side of one teat. I have lacerated the edges and stitched the 
slit zvell together many times but the milk zvill ooze out and prevent 
healing together. I have used numberless milk tubes to no avail, as 
the flange on the tubes loose out. When I remove the flange the tubes 
creep up into the udder and it is a trouble to get them out again. 

Wounds of a quiescent udder usually heal, but if the cow is in 
milk and the lesions involve the teats it is exceedingly difficult to 
heal the wound, as the irritation delays or interrupts the healing 
process. The following lotion is one of the very best to use for teat 
wound: Tinct. iodine, 2 ounces; tinct. arnica, 2 ounces; glycerine, 
2 ounces; comp. tinct. benzoine, 2 ounces. Mix and apply twice daily 
after washing with 5 per cent solution carbolic acid and castile soap. 
Your milk tube must be an ancient one as all milk tubes of today 
are self-retainers and could not slip into the udder. Care must be 
taken to boil the tube previous to each using as you may cause an 
infection of the udder by a filthy tube. 

Injury to Udder. 

/ have a coiv which has a gathering in the back of her udder which 
seems to be some sort of injury. It has been there but a few days. 

This injury was caused by a blow or traumatism. Thoroughly 
scrape out the diseased tissue and after washing with sheep-dip 
water (tablespoon to one quart) apply the following powder: Mix 
the following powder and apply it to the wound: Iodoform, 1 
drachm; boric acid, 1 ounce; alum. ^ ounce; zinc oxide, ^ ounce. 
Be sure and insert this powder into the bottom of the wound, so 
that it will reach all diseased parts. 

Blind Teat. 

What can I do for a "blind teat"? The cow has just freshened and 
that quarter of her udder is very full, but there is no milk in the teat. 

1 have been rubbing and greasing the udder. The blind quarter is 
slightly inflamed. 

.\n artificial opening should be made in the teat at once. Call 
in the nearest physician unless you have a regular graduate veteri- 
narian near. 

Cow Pox. 

/ have a yearling heifer xvhich is in fine condition and making good 
growth. But all four of her teats have sores on them and are mostly 
covered imth scabs. 

It is probably cow pox. Give a physic of glauber and epsom salts 
mixed 4 ounces of each to the heifer and double the dose to the 
cow. Apply externally, once daily, after washing, the following pre- 
scription: Zinc ointment, 4 ounces; iodoform, I/2 ounce; glycerine, 

2 ounces; carbolic acid, 2 drachms. Mix thoroughly and apply to 
sores. 



226 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Cause of "Loss of Cud." 

About three months a^o a pure-bred Jersey commenced to fail on 
her milk and soon zvent dry, although on good feed. Did not seem to 
be sick, but did not cat ravenously as she generally did, and little was 
thought of it. During the past six weeks she has failed rapidly. Does 
not chew her cud, froths at the mouth, runs at the eyes, and zvhen she 
eats anything much it bloats her. In fact, she seems bloated all the 
time. She is lifeless and will hardly move around, getting very thin, 
and hair standing the zvrong way. Is there such a thing as a cow losing 
her cudf 

Most people imagine a cow's cud is something material. As a 
matter of fact, in a certain sense the words appetite and cud are 
synonymous. You can say a cow has lost her appetite or a cow has 
lost her cud. Now, any sickness severe enough will cause a cow to 
lose her appetite. The bloating is caused from indigestion secondary 
to some organic disease, probably tuberculosis. Keep up the cow's 
strength by giving condensed foods or drenches of egg-nogg, gruel 
or greens. Give warm salt-water injections twice daily and give the 
following mixture: Quinine sulphate, 2 ounces; Antipyrine, 1 ounce; 
ammonia muriate, 3 ounces; alcohol, 1 quart; water 1 quart. Mix; 
give 2 ounces every four hours. 

Calf Dysentery. 

/ zvould like to knozv the reason for bloody discharges from the 
bozvels of a young six-day-old calf. There is a looseness of the bozvels 
and the blood is intermingled zvith the excrement. There is not a profuse 
amount of blood, nor is it very dark in color, and it seems to be accom- 
panied zvith mucus or light, thick substance. 

This is dysentery, due to scours so prevalent in calves. Give 
6 ounces olive oil, 4 drachms bismuth subnitrate and 1 drachm Pear- 
son's creoline. The discharge is very dangerous to other animals. 

Bovine Rheumatism. 

Our Jersey cow got somezvhat lame one year ago in one hip or leg 
after calving but soon got better. Last June zvhen she came in one 
leg was lame. It seems to be in the stiffle joint and the first one above. 
When she zvalks she gets real lame. 

Rheumatism is the trouble here. Give the following powder: 
Soda salicylate, 3 ounces; salol, 2 ounces; pulv. gentian root, 2 ounces. 
Mix and make 24 powders. Give four daily. Apply Pratt's, a good 
veterinary liniment. 

Bleeding for Blackleg. 

/ have read several articles on blackleg, and it seems strange to me 
that no mention is made of an operation that is an absolute preventive, 
namely, bleeding in the feet. 



Diseases of Animals 227 

The reason that no special mention of bleeding is made is that 
it is not now considered the preventive that it once was. Some 
people appear to have fair success with it, and others no success at 
all. The Bureau of Animal Industry states that the evidence in- 
dicates that bleeding, nerving, roweling or setoning have neither 
curative nor protective value and, therefore, should be discarded for 
vaccination which is now widely used as a preventive. 

Poor Feeding, Depraved Appetite. 

/ have three cows. They have been fed alfalfa hay all winter and 
are in very good condition and seem otherwise in good health, and have 
salt to run to. Every time they chance to come to the yard they will 
pick up an old bone and chezv it for perhaps a half hour. I always take 
the bone away from them zuhen I discover it. 

These cows have a depraved appetite, owing to the fact the 
tissues of the body are crying out for something lacking that is re- 
quired in the system. Administer the following powder; also put 
a lump of lime in the watering trough: Pulv. gentian, 1 ounce; 
pulv. elm bark, 2 ounces; pulv. iron sulphate, 1 ounce; pulv. bicarb, 
soda, 4 ounces; pulv. aniseed, 2 ounces; pulv. red pepper ^ ounce; 
pulv. oilcake meal 10 pounds. Mix thoroughly and give a table- 
spoonful in scalded grain once daily. 

Cows Swallowing Foreign Substances. 

We recently lost a valuable cotv, and when zvc opened her we found 
a large tumor or abscess at the top of the heart as large as a gallon jar. 
What caused it, or is there any danger of other cows taking it, and if 
so, what can we do? 

This is a common disease among cows and is called traumatic 
pericarditis. The trouble arises from the habit of the cows picking 
up foreign substances such as wire, nails, or hairpins, and swallow- 
ing them. They are taken into the paunch and the digestive move- 
ments of this organ cause the foreign body to penetrate the lining 
and enter the heart, where it gradually causes death as it enters 
deeper. It is very common to find nails, etc., in the stomachs of old 
dairy cows which are killed at the slaughter-houses. If you had 
examined the animal carefully, you would find that some foreign 
body had penetrated the heart and caused death. There is no danger 
of any contagion arising from your cow. 

Defective Urination. 

/ have a cow that seems to be in good health and gives plenty of 
milk. Nearly every morning when she is being milked she seems to 
want to urinate and will stand letting the water drip from her. 

This trouble often results from the cows eating alkaline hay. 
Give her two quarts of flaxseed tea daily. Mix it with her food in 
which there has been placed one-half teaspoon of powdered Buchu. 



228 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Infectious Conjunctivitis (Sore Eyes). 

/ have several coin's and heifers that are affected zvith sore eyes. 
The disease first makes its appearance by excessiz'e ivatering of the eyes; 
then the center or pupil becomes zvhite and later turns red of bloodshot. 

Bathe thoroughly with the normal salt solution (teaspoon salt 
to 1 pint warm water), after which place in the eye and all around 
the mucuous membrane of the eye the following: Twenty-five per 
cent solution of argyrol, one-half ounce; apply thoroughly once daily 
and keep out of the sunlight if possible. Another treatment is: 
Bathe the eyes once daily with boracic acid 1 teaspoon, water 1 
pint, after which thoroughly saturate the eyelids and eyes with 1 
to 10,000 solution of bichloride of mercury. You are dealing v/ith 
a disease that will spread throughout your herd if you do not take 
proper means to separate the affected from the well ones. 

What to Do Against Tuberculous Milk. 

/ should like to knozv zvhaf rould be d'mc zvith a dairv zvhere cows 
are dying zvith tuberculosis a:id tl;e ozviter knotvs, but is selling the milk. 

The case should be reported to F. W. Andreason. Secretary of 
the State Dairy Bureau, at San Francisco, for investigation by an 
inspector. If conditions are found as represented, the sale of milk 
will be prevented, as it is contrary to State law to sell milk from 
sick cows. County boards of health have also authority to prevent 
the sale of such milk in the county on the ground that this is a 
menace to the public health. 

Effects of Ill-Feeding Pigs, 

/ have a couple of pigs, out of about 75 head farrozved last spring, 
which seem to have the staggers. They are looking fairly well, feed well 
on pasture and at fcedi^ig time are right there making as much noise 
as the others. They run around as if they had a shot too much. 

Your pigs are suffering from acute indigestion, undoubtedly 
due to improper feeding. Cut down the rations, especially if they 
are getting grain. Give sick pigs two tablespoonfuls of castor oil 
each. 

Sore Eyes in Pigs. 

What is the matter zvith young pigs zvhen their eyes szvell shutf 
Before they shut they look as if there zvas a white milky scum over 
them. 

There is some infection present, and a good cleaning up is 
needed. The sows and pigs should be dipped in a warm solution 
of some coal-tar disinfectant, and the quarters thoroughly cleaned 
and disinfected or changed to a dry warm place. The pigs' eyes 
should be washed with warm water and a few drops of the follow- 
ing solution dropped into eyes once a day for a few days: Have 
druggist prepare a 1 per cent solution of silver nitrate After 



Diseases of Animals 229 

applying this the eyes had better be washed a few minutes later 
with water to which a little common salt has been added. 

Hog Cholera. 

/ have a number of pigs which have been ailing for three weeks or 
so. They discharge a yellozvish kind of manure at times, running of 
the bowels. The most striking symptom seems to be a partial paralysis 
of the hindquarters. The hogs will be walking along and seem to lose 
control of their king legs. It seems to be spreading to the other hogs 
and a number have already died. Their appetite is poor. 

This is undoubtedly hog cholera. The owner should appeal to 
the Experiment Station at Berkeley for serum and treat all well 
hogs and clean up as thoroughly as possible. The matter should 
also be reported to the State Veterinarian at Sacramento. 

Pneumonia in Pigs. 

What is the disease which may be said to confine itself, with few 
exceptions, to young pigs weighing loo pounds or lessf Its symptoms are at 
first sneezing and a mild cough. These quickly change to hard cough- 
ing and labored breathing, which as the disease progresses shows evi- 
dence of much pain. The appetite is lost and the eyes become gummed 
and inflamed. In some cases the pig lingers on for iveeks, while in others 
death occurs almost immediately. Vomiting sometimes occurs. 

It is pneumonia and in its treatment "an ounce of prevention 
is worth a pound of cure." Once pneumonia gets a foothold in a 
hog, the chances are so strongly in favor of death that recovery 
may be considered out of the question. Since remedies are not cer- 
tain in the cure of pneumonia, it will be found that the prevention 
of the disease is the only real way to combat it. The main causes 
of the disease are exposure to draughts, sudden changes in tempera- 
ture, damp beds, manure heaps as sleeping quarters, and exposure 
to the disease itself. Pigs in thin condition or weak constitutionally 
are more liable to contract the trouble than pigs in good flesh and 
healthy specimens. Good, dry, warm, comfortable sleeping houses, 
well ventilated and so arranged as to prevent crowding and piling 
up, will, I think, do more to prevent pneumonia than any other one 
thing. Some such preparation as advocated by the Government for 
the prevention of hog cholera will help keep the stock in a good 
healthy condition, the better to combat exposure. It is the little 
attentions that keep the herd healthy and in a vigorous condition, 
and by using simple preventatives, remedies will be found unneces- 
sary. — H. B. Wintringham. 

General Prescription for Hog Sickness. 

My hogs seem to be mangy and scabby, hut am unable to find any 
lice on them. They eat zvell, but vomit a good deal and are falling off 
in flesh. 



230 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

They may be affected with a chronic type of cholera, and this 
should be determined by some one who can see the hogs. Make a 
general cleaning up of the hogs and quarters, using a dip and re- 
peating in ten days. Hogs have a true mange as well as other 
animals. A change of feed may also be needed, depending on what 
is being fed and how the hogs are managed. Green alfalfa pasture 
with a moderate feed of shorts or middlings of wheat and ground 
barley made into a slop would be a good ration. Evidently there 
is some digestive trouble here, and a dose of croton oil (3 drops) 
mixed in a teaspoonful of raw linseed oil for each hog would be 
beneficial. Charcoal, ashes, salt and a little epsom salts would be 
of benefit to tone the digestion. The oil should be carefully mixed 
in the slop. 

Figs Out of Condition. 

Of a litter of pigs weaned about a month several of them have itchy 
seabs on their legs, ears and noses, and those having white feet show 
reddish spots through the hoofs. They did not get it until after they 
zvere weaned. They are fed on soaked whole barley and have alfalfa 
pasture. 

Put the pigs on a slop composed of wheat middlings and barley 
ground fine, with the hulls removed, and milk, or, in the absence 
of milk about 8 or 10 per cent of meat meal to which add some good 
stock food. Dip them with some standard brand of dip or apply 
crude oil to be sure that they were free from lice, fleas, etc. Give 
them good, clean, comfortable sleeping quarters and trust to nature 
to do the rest. 

Pareilysis of Sow. 

During the last few days one of my sozvs appears to be paralysed in 
her hind quarters and now cannot use her hind legs at all. She is about 
a year old and is due to farrow her first litter in and about six weeks. 

It is paralysis due to advanced pregnancy. Give 4 ounces castor 
oil and 4 ounces olive oil. She will recover after parturition. 

Rickets in Hogs. 

A fine boar, i6 months old, zveight about 380 pounds, zvell built, zvith 
little surplus fat, until lately has been very thrifty, but appears to be 
losing control over his legs. Can't step over the smallest stick without 
falling forzvard and acts like a foundered animal. He carries his back 
rather arching since this trouble came on. During my absence from home 
a hired man gave this boar a good beating zvith a pick handle, and it, 
appears to have been the beginning of his troubles. 

This disease is Osteo Rachitis (rickets). The abuse has prob- 
ably aggravated the symptoms. This condition is due to a lack of 
hardening principles in the bones. Give 4 ounces of cod liver oil 
daily and plenty of lime water to drink. It will be all right to 
use him for breeding when he recovers. In addition to good food 
and pure water give daily a handful of a mixture of principally 
ashes and burned barley (charcoal) with the usual addition of salt, 



Diseases of Animals 231 

sulphur and soda. This mixture is good: Pulv. dried iron sulphate, 
4 ounces; soda bi-carbonate, 8 ounces; soda salicylate, 2 drachms; 
pulv. aniseed, 4 ounces. Mix and give one-half teaspoonful twice 
daily. 

Pigs Losing Tails. 

We have five pigs, 17 days old, and ivhen they were farrowed they 
had rings around the roots of their tails, and now their tails are dropping 
off. 

This is caused by interference with circulation before birth. 
Apply tinct. iodine around the affected parts once daily and if it 
shows no signs of improvement after one week amputate. 

Over-Fat Sow. 

My brood sow is awfully fat; how should I feed her so that she 
don't get too fat? She is bred and it will be her third litter. She was 
running in the vineyard all zvinter, and I fed her a handful of barley every 
day or a few potatoes. A'ozv she has free access to my grozuing barley 
field, and I give her half a dozen potatoes every day. 

You need not worry about getting her thin. She simply re- 
quires less food. An animal excessively fat brings forth an inferior 
offspring. 

Musty Corn for Pigs. 

Would Egyptian cor^i that has been musty and then dried in the 
sun be fit for pigs? It heated and musted quite a good deal, but is 
dried well. The idea is to grind it and then feed it in milk if good. 

It is very dangerous to feed any stock moldy or musty food, 
especially pregnant animals. It is this kind of food which causes 
a majority of the abortions. Mold or smut in food is poisonous 
both to man and beast. It is usually almost impossible to get out 
of feed because it runs throughout the structure of the hay or grain. 

Wounds and Wound Swellings. 

What is the proper treatment for a fresh wire cut on a horse? How 
should saddle galls be treated? Is there any way to make the hair come 
in its natural color where saddle galls have been? How can an enlarge- 
ment of a colt's leg, caused from a wire cut, be reduced? 

After all foreign matter has been removed from a lacerated 
wound, like that made in a wire cut, the wound should be carefully 
fomented with warm water, to which has been added carbolic acid 
in the proportion of 1 part to 100 of water. It should then be ban- 
daged to prevent infection. Zinc ointment would be a good thing 
to use under the bandage. For a simple saddle, or harness gall, 
some ointment like the following should be applied and the wound 
rested up: One pint alcohol in which are shaken the whites of 2 
eggs; a soution of nitrate of silver, 10 grains to the ounce of water; 
sugar of lead or sulphate of zinc, 20 grains to an ounce of water; 
and so on. Or advertised gall cures may be applied. If a sitfest 



232 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

has developed, the dead hornlike slough must be cut out and the 
wound treated with antiseptics. There is no way we know of to 
make hair come in with natural color after a wound. The swelling 
on the colt's leg may be reduced by rubbing it well several times 
SL day and at night rub in some 10 per cent iodine petrogen. 

Fly Repellants. 

Can you tell me tvhat to use as a spray to kill the flies in my stable? 
In the early morning the ceiling and sides are thickly covered ivith the 
pests partly dormant but not enough so that they can be szvcpt down and 
killed. What spray can I use that will destroy them? 

It is difficult to kill flies by spraj'ing them. You can, however, 
spray the sides and ceiling of the barn with a spray of epsom salts 
(sulphate of magnesia) using about a cupful to the gallon, which 
will prevent them from gathering there. And since prevention is 
better than cure, flies can be kept from gathering around by de- 
stroying their breeding places, if those are under one's control, 
by having all manure and litter removed before the flies have a 
chance to develop. The following may be found useful to readers 
as a spray to keep away flies: Fish oil, 2 quarts; kerosene, 1 quart; 
crude carbolic acid, 1 pint; oil of pennyroyal, 1 ounce; oil of tar, 
10 ounces. Mix thoroughly and apply in a fine spray. The following 
has been successfully used to repel flies from cows: Nitro benzine, 
5 ounces; carbolic acid, 3 ounces; kerosene oil, 3 ounces; sol. formal- 
dehyde, 1 ounce; fish oil, IJ/2 quarts. Mix and just touch the hair 
with the mixture. 

To Destroy Fleas. 

My barn is full of Heas. 1 tried to destroy them by using creso-dip, 
but did not kill them all. 

Fleas can only be permanently checked by destroying their 
breeding places which are in the dust and dirt that accumulate in 
cracks and corners around barns, sheds and dwellings. Follow the 
cleaninqr up with a thorough distribution of flake naphthalene. This 
is most effective where the stable or room can be closed tight for 
half a day, or even 24 hours. An ingenious suggestion is made that 
if a sheep can be let run in and around the buildings where the 
fleas breed, they will soon be less numerous and as new batches 
hatch out the sheep will soon get them picked up, and after a while 
the place will be entirely free of them. But the sheep must be 
allowed to run all around the sheds and breeding places, as the flea 
jumps up, gets into the wool, and can never get out again. A hog 
can also be used as a flea trap. One reader says: Pour a little of 
the crude oil on the hogs' heads and along their backs, about a gill 
on each hog. This would run down the sides of the hogs and kill all 
the fleas on them. The oil also remains on the hogs for several 
days, and all the fleas that jump on the hogs from the ground stick 
fast and never jump ofif again. In about three weeks the fleas all 
disappear and the hogs look fine and sleek from the use of the oil. 



PART VIII. POULTRY KEEPING' 



Teaching Chicks to Perch. 

What is a good method of breaking in young brooder chicks to use 
the roosts? 

At from six to eight weeks old the chicks should be taken from 
the brooder quarters to the colony houses and range, or wherever 
they are to be located, and at this time they should be taught to 
perch. Have the new quarters arranged with low wide perches (1 
by 3-inch scantlings) ; also make slatted frames by nailing lath or 
other such narrow strips two inches apart. Set these frames against 
the wall so that they will extend slant-wise under the perches, and 
have the corners on the other side of the room cut off by nailing 
boards across them. The chicks will run up on the frame to find 
?. huddling corner and land on the perches, as they cannot rest on 
the open slanting frame. A little care for a few evenings in putting 
up those that remain on the floor and straightening them out on the 
perches will teach them the ropes. Where there are but a few to 
be taught, all that is necessary is to provide the low wide perches 
and shut out the corners, and a few of the smart ones will soon take 
to the perches, and gradually others will follow until all will be 
roosting. 

Liver Disease. 

/ hai'e hens which seem well in every respect up to the time of their 
combs changing color, zvhen they die zvithin three days. The combs turn 
a faint yellozv, almost white; they are heavy, have their usual appetite 
up to the last 24 hours. I have treated by giving small doses of castor 
oil and Douglas mi.vture in the drinking water, feeding on dry mash with 
plenty of green feed. There is no tendency to lameness nor limp neck. 
The droppings are loose and very white. 

The fowls were victims of jaundice, which is a form of liver 
disease and caused by over-feeding on rich starchy foods that also 
cause fowls to become overfat. However, at the end of the laying 
season and the beginning of the molt the poultry keeper will lose 
some hens, even when kept under the best conditions, and especially 
hens of that age. In doctoring such cases in the way described, if 
the fowl does not improve in a couple of days, the hatchet cure is 
the most profitable. 



*Largely compiled from the writings of Mrs. W. Russell James and 
Mrs. Susan Swapgood. 



234 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Rupture of Oviduct. 

/ have had two other hens die suddenly when on the nest. The second 
one zve opened and found one egg broken near the vent and another with 
shell formed ready to be laid. 

Rupture of the oviduct was probably the cause of the hens dying 
on the nest and is due to the same condition in the hens; that is, 
the straining to expel the egg necessary in the engorged condition 
of the internal organs from overfatness. 

Melons for Fowls. 

Have "stock melons" or "citrons" any merit as a green food for 
laying hens? Are the seeds of the above injurious to hens or cows? 

Stock melons are desirable for chicken feeding if other succulent 
materials are scarce, but they are inferior to alfalfa and other clovers. 
Seeds are not injurious to stock unless possibly one should feed to 
excess by separating them from the other tissues. If melons are 
fed as they grow, no apprehension need be had from injury by seed. 

Rape and Vetch for Chickens. 

What time do you sozv rape and vetch and are they good for chickens? 

They surely are good for chickens or for any other stock that 
likes greens. They are winter growers in California valleys and 
should be sown in the fall as soon as the land is moist enough to 
keep them growing, or just as soon as you can get it moist either 
by rainfall or irrigation. Neither plant likes dry heat or dry soil. 

Preserving Eggs. 

What is a good way to preserve eggs for home use? 

In a cool cellar, eggs will keep very well in a mixture of common 
salt and bran. Use equal parts, mix well, and as you gather the 
eggs from day to day pack with big end down in the mixture and 
see that the eggs are covered. Waterglass eggs are good enough for 
cooking purposes, but when boiled anyone that knows the taste of 
a strictly fresh egg can tell the difference in an instant; when fried 
the taste is not so pronounced, but it is there just the same; besides, 
when broken, they are a little watery. This watery condition passes 
off if left to stand for a few minutes. The best way is to use the 
waterglass method, is one quart of waterglass to ten quarts of water. 
Boil the water and put away to cool, when cold add the waterglass, 
mixing well, and store in 3 or 5-gallon crocks in a cool place. They 
will keep six months if good when put in. In all cases the eggs 
must be gathered very fresh, for one stale egg will spoil the whole 
lot, so great care is needed. 

Dipping Fowls. 

How do you dip hens to kill lice? 

To dip fowls you must have a very warm day, or a warm room 
where you can turn them in to dry. I have know people to use 



Poultry Keeping 235 

tobacco stems, but it requires good judgment as to the right strength 
to use. The dips usually sold already prepared are safer, in my 
opinion, because they give directions as to quantity. Get a can 
of "zenoleum" or "creolium" — either is good — and have the \yater 
a little over blood-heat to commence; be very careful that the liquid 
does not get in the fowl's throat. If there are no directions with the 
cans, put enough in to make the water quite milky and strong smell- 
ing. It is best to make the hen sit down and with a sponge wet the 
back and head thoroughly, then under the wings and breast; if there 
are nits, don't be in a hurry to take the hen out, but let the dip get 
to the nits and skin on the abdomen. If the water is too warm it 
will be dangerous, as some fowls have weak hearts; that is the only 
danger, providing you dry them quickly. 

Cure for Feather-Eating, 

What is the cure for feather-eating? 

Feather eating is the result of idleness or a shortage of green 
feed. The best way to cure it is to furnish the fowls with exercise. 
Boil some oats until soft, and when cooked stir in salt enough to 
taste and about a quart of good beef scrap; feed this for breakfast 
several mornings together. Make them scratch for the rest of their 
food in deep litter and give them sour milk to drink if you have it. 
If sour milk is not available, put a tablespoonful of flowers of sulphur 
in the boiled oats. The object is to cool the blood and furnish 
exercise. See that the fowls are supplied with mineral matter, such 
ash shells, bone meal and some sand if it can be had. It is sur- 
prising the amount of sand that chickens will eat when carried to 
them in yards, so there must be a necessity for it, and if they cannot 
get to it, it pays to carry a good box full once in a while. 

Cannibal Chicks. 

What can I do to cure my chicks of eating each other? 

Some kind of animal food is necessary when the chicks begin to 
pick toes, wings and vents. But the meat must always be cooked, 
the least bit of raw meat drives them wild as does the blood they 
can bring on each other. For that reason a strict watch must be 
kept to detect any case before blood is brought. Remove all weak 
chicks as they always go for the weakest, and as soon as one 
chick is picked on for a victim, remove it at once. Some people paint 
the toes with tar or liquid lice paint, but I have had the best success 
with bitter aloes mixed with water. A nickel's worth covers a lot 
of toes. It is best to buy a powder, then dissolve in a little water 
and paint wings, vent and toes. They won't take many pecks at 
them when they find they are so bitter. 

Sunflower Seeds for Poultry. 

What is the food value of sunflower seed as a ration for fozvls, mostly 
laying hens? Should it be fed whole or crushed? 



236 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

Sunflower seed is rich in oil, having the same proportion as 
flaxseed; otherwise it rates in value the same as grain. A little, not 
too much, fed whole is well relished by fowls and is said to give 
luster to the plumage in fitting birds for shows. Sunflower is greatly 
overrated for poultry purposes. It is an ungainly plant of no use 
for forage and its seed is so well liked by the sparrows that the only 
way to keep them till ripe is to cover the heads with netting. 

Clipping Hens for Cleanliness. 

My Iiciis foul all the feathers behnv the z'ent; they appear healthy, but 
do not look nice. What can I do? 

Take a pair of scissors and clip the fluff away from that part 
of the abdomen, give a teaspoonful of olive oil, and notice of they 
have any discharge that is of an offensive color or odor. Sometimes 
it is nothing but pure laziness with hens of the large breeds that 
causes this matting together of the flufif below the vent. We rarely 
see hens of the small breeds so aflfected. Whenever a hen soils her 
feathers clip her at once, and, in fact, it is a good custom to follow 
in any case. When hens are very heavily fluffed it interferes with 
the fertility of the eggs. In such cases there is not anything for it 
but the scissors. 

Bowel Trouble in Chicksi 

What is the cause of hoivel trouble in young chicks, and zuhat to do 
for it? 

Bowel trouble in very young chicks is usually caused by a chill. 
It is very hard for us here to believe chicks get chilled because, not 
feeling the cold ourselves, we forget that chicks have really under- 
gone a violent change from incubator to the outside atmosphere. 
In the Eastern States, great care is exercised in moving chicks from 
incubator to brooder oven, and also in seeing that the brooder itself 
is warm and fit to receive the chicks. But we are, as a rule, very 
careless in these little matters and the chicks feel the change and 
suffer from bowel trouble. Sometimes, of course, the trouble may 
be traced to the food, but more often it comes from a chill. The 
best way to cure it is to remove the chicks to new ground at once, 
or if in a brooder, clean it out well and spray with some disinfectant. 
Boil all the water that is given to the chicks and feed boiled rice 
once or twice a day in which a little cinnamon is mixed. Do not 
put in too much or they will not eat it, keep all meat away and just 
feed dry chick feed and boiled rice. No oatmeal or any other cereal 
but the rice; if chicks won't eat it, feed dry chick feed and boiled 
water and a little lettuce. 

Quick Roosters and Laying Hens. 

Hoiv can I get the young roosters off quick and the hens to lay in 
winter? 

These two happy results come from correct methods of poultry 
keeping from the ground up. To get the cockerels ofif quick, they 
must be hatched from strong-germed eggs, incubated properly and 



Poultry Keeping 237 

kept growing from the first jump out of the shell. To get eggs in 
winter the pullets must come from the same conditions. Very few 
hens will lay in the early winter under any conditions. The pullets 
must be depended upon for that season and the hens kept properly 
will drop in some time in January. 

Poultry Tonic. 

What is a good poultry tonic f 

The following is a very good tonic for general purposes: Tinc- 
ture of red cinchona, 1 fluid ounce; tincture of chloride of iron, 1 
fluid drachm; tincture of nux vomica, 4 fluid drachms; glycerine 2 
ounces; water, 2 ounces. Mix and give one teaspoonful to a quart of 
water, allowing no other drink. 

Poultry in the Orchard. 

Kindly advise mc about keeping hens in an orchard. I would like 
to know if they will injure the trees in any zvay if kept in large numbers. 
In zvhat way would they benefit the trees f 

From the point of view of the trees there is no doubt that they 
would be advantaged by the presence of the poultry, providing the 
coops are not allowed to interfere with the proper irrigation and 
cultivation. If it is practicable to handle the fowls in coops without 
causing the soil around the coops to become compacted by continual 
tramping, and if they are not kept upon the ground long enough to 
cause an excessive application of hen manure, which is very con- 
centrated and stimulating, the result would unquestionably be 
beneficial. From the point of view of the tree, this benefit of injury 
would depend upon how long the fowls were kept around the tree 
and the maintenance of them in such a way that the soil should not 
become out of condition physically or too rich chemically for the 
satisfactory performance of the tree. If they can be moved fre- 
quently, and if they are only put in place when the soil is in such 
condition that tramping around the coops will not seriously compact 
it, the presence of fov/ls would be an advantage. On the other 
hand, if the coops are to be kept in place for a long time and all 
the ground outside of them crusted and hardened by tramping and 
the soil under the coops overloaded with droppings, the thrift and 
value of the trees will be seriously interfered with. 

Caponizing. 

Can three to four month old cockerels be caponized successfully in 
summer, and if so, zvhat care, feed, etc., do they require afterwards? 

The birds should be between two to three months, not over four, 
unless some very large variety that matures slowly. Size is equally 
important as age, and a bird to be caponized should not weigh more 
than one and a half pounds. The work can be successfully done in 
the summer season, but the fowl must be kept without food or drink 
for at least 24 hours, longer is better and keep in shady place. After 



238 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

caponizing, feed the bird what soft feed he will eat up and let him 

have plenty of water. Then leave him to himself as he will be his 

own doctor. In two or three days look them over and if there are 

any wind-balls, simply prick with a needle to let the air out; this 

may have to be done two or three times before the wound heals up, 

but after it has healed, treat just as you would other chickens and 

feed them about twice a day. There is nothing made by trying to 

rush nature; it takes fifteen months to grow a good capon of the 

large breeds. ^ „ 

Roup Treatment. 

Up to a week ago the chickens had been exceptionally well in every 
way. Notv they seem to have a cold and a running at the nose and zvith 
it a bad odor. It was suggested that this might be the beginning of roup, 
but I see no swell-head. 

The distinguishing characteristic of roup is not so-called "swell 
head" or other form of cold, but the offensive roupy odor. When 
the cold has reached this stage it is a pronounced case of roup, and 
highly contagious. Separate all the ailing fowls and segregate them 
in comfortable hospital quarters, warm but with one side partly open 
for fresh air. Disinfect the quarters of the well fowls by spraying 
with distillate or cheap-grade coal oil and sprinkling the floors and 
about the houses with air-slaked lime. Use some simple remedy like 
coal oil or permanganate of potash to cleanse the throat and nostrils. 
With coal oil, first wipe the eyes and bill with a clean cloth dipped in 
the coal oil, then inject with a sewing-machine oil can enough coal 
oil to open open and thoroughly clean out the nostrils. If the throat 
is affected, give a tablespoonful of sweet oil and coal oil, half and 
half, two or three times a day until relieved. One of our corres- 
pondents has sent us the following treatment with permanganate of 
potash which he has found the best roup remedy he has ever tried: 
Dissolve 1 ounce of permanganate of potash in 3 pints of water, 
hold the fowl's head in this for a second, then open the beak and 
rinse out the mouth in the solution. Wipe with a clean, soft cloth 
and apply a very little witch hazel or carbolated salve to the eyes, 
nostrils and head. Repeat the operation as often as the throat and 
head become clogged with mucus. Until the disease is eliminated 
from the premises, keep permanganate of potash in the drinking water 
of all the fowls, both sick and well. About 1 ounce to each 2 gallons 
of water or enough to give the water a claret color. The sick fowls 
should be allowed no other feed but a little stimulating mash three 
times a day. Where the fowls do not show a decided improvement 
in the course of a few days, or where the disease has assumed a 
violent form, all such birds should be killed and the bodies burned 
at once. 

Bad Food for Chickens. 

My chicks are about three weeks old and have always been strong 
and sturdy, but when taken sick first appear a little dumpish, then the 
head seems a little heavy and the neck lengthens out. As the disease 
advances they become stagger y. 



Poultry Keeping ' 239 

Your chicks have eaten soured food, decayed vegetables or tainted 
meat. Baby chicks are just like other babies and the same care 
should be used that their food be always sweet and fresh. Wet food 
should never be given chicks, nor raw meat nor anything the least 
bit tainted or stale. Put a teaspoon of coal oil in each pint of drink- 
ing water and see to it that the latter is kept pure and cool. Mix a 
teacup of sulphur with enough bran or shorts for each 100 chicks, 
moisten with sweet milk and feed it on clean boards, what the chicks 
will eat up clean in some twenty minutes. Give them one feed of 
this each day for three days if the weather is dry. Clean the brooders 
and runs daily, then dust white with air-slacked lime and cover the 
lime with a sprinkling of clean sand. Rake and clean up the yards 
where they range, and never let them eat any of their grain or food 
out of dirt and filth. You cannot doctor such small chicks and must 
depend upon the coal oil in the drinking water. Keep the water 
fresh, but add the coal oil until the chicks are relieved. 

Open-Front Chicken Houses. 

In tvhat direction shall I face open-front poultry houses? 

North or northeast is the proper direction to face the open fronts 
of poultry houses and coops in the Pacific Coast climate. The pre- 
vailing winds are from the south and southeast in the winter, and 
from the west and southwest in the summer. The occasional north 
winds or "northers," may be called dry winds, in fact, are an indica- 
tion of dry weather, and so do not harm the fowls even when cold. 
We like the upper half of the north-end or slide of our poultry houses 
open with inch-mesh covering the open space and the eaves extend- 
ing several inches as a protection. In case of an unusual storm from 
that direction, one thickness of burlap may be tacked to the edge of 
the extending eaves and to the lower part of the opening. This will 
admit plenty of fresh air while breaking the force of the wind. We 
also have a large trap door for the use of the fowls, in the solid 
lower part of the open end, and the large door, for cleaning and 
sunning the house, in the west side. 

A Point on Mating. 

/ have Ane roosters a year old this April; would you advise keep' 
ing them for mating with the same hens next season, or do you advise 
selling each year and getting fresh stock f 

The young males will be all right to mate with the same hens 
next season — that is, if they come through the molt with vigor. They 
will be just two years old and at their best. The molt is the test for 
both hens and cocks. If they show no signs of ailing or weakness 
during that period, it is proof of the proper stamina and vigor. 

Age for Mating. 

At what age may a cockerel be mated with hens? 

From nine months to a year is the proper age to mate a Leghorn 
cockerel. Cockerels of the larger breeds should not be mated before 
a year old. 



240 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

White- Yolk Eggs. 

Why are eggs zvatery and light-colored? 

The trouble is in the feed somewhere. Too much green feed, 
especially green feed that springs from wet, soggy ground, will some- 
times make the eggs watery. Or if you are feeding more mash feed 
than dry grain, it will have that tendency. Some people claim that 
the feed a hen eats does not aflfect the egg at all; but if it does not, 
why do eggs differ in color and quality? Eggs that are laid by hens 
fed wholly on wheat, or the by-products of wheat, such as bran, 
shorts or middlings, all have a pale yolk. Now feed the hens some 
green feed — any kind will do — and the eggs from the same hens 
will have a yolk several degrees or shades darker. 

Poultry Diarrhea. 

Will you kindly tell mc the cause and cure for boivel trouble among 
hens? 

The "quick cure" for chick diarrhea has not yet been found. Pre- 
vention is the only sure remedy. The first treatment in diarrhea 
(which must not be confused with simple looseness of the bowels) 
should be a mild physic to clean out the digestive tract. Epsom salts 
is probably best for this purpose where a number of fowls are to be 
treated. This is usually given in the drinking water, but Dr. Morse, 
who has charge of the investigation of poultry diseases in the Bureau 
of Animal Industry, gives the following directions for administering 
the salts: "Clean out by giving epsom salts in an evening mash, 
estimating one-third to one-half teaspoonful to each adult bird, or 
a teaspoonful to each six half-grown chicks, carefully proportioning 
the amount of mash to the appetite of the birds, so that the whole 
will be eaten up quickly." For a few days afterward, feed only lightly 
with dry grain and tender greens, such as fresh-cut mustard and let- 
tuce leaves. Keep plenty of pure, cool water, with just a thin skim 
of coal oil — one drop to each pint — for drinking; also plenty of sharp 
grit and fresh charcoal broken to the size of grains of wheat. 

Limber-Neck. 

A very peculiar disease is taking off my fowls. The head of the 
osp SI 0A3t{} '.pvap 3!it] yqoo] [nio^ puo fsiijuq Jiii of ii,nop spujq pzoj 

a slight discharge from the mouth. The head and tail droop and if the 
fowl could stand up they would almost touch. 

When a fowl loses partial or entire control of the muscles of the 
neck the common name of the affection is limber-neck. In medical 
science limber-neck is regarded as a symptom rather than a disease, 
and may be due to a number of causes, such as derangement of the 
digestive organs, intestinal worms and ptomaine poisoning. The 
affected fowls should be given immediately a full tablespoon of fresh 
melted lard or sweet oil, to which has been added a scant teaspoonful 
of coal oil. In an hour repeat the dose. For a few days the fowls 
should be fed on some light food, such as shorts scalded with sweet 



Poultry Keeping 241 

milk in which has been dissolved a level teaspoonful of baking soda 
to every pint of milk, and also allowed plenty of crisp, tender lettuce 
or similar greens. A little Epsom salts should be added to the drink- 
ing water for a few days. This' treatment, if resorted to at the start, 
will be effectual, but if the poisoning has had its course long, nothing 
will save the bird. 

Chicken Pox. 

My one and two-year-old fozvls are getting scabby combs. It starts 
with a round blackish spot and swells into many spots, finally nearly 
covering one side of the comb. Sometimes accompanying this is the 
closing of one eye, and later both eyes. 

The trouble is chicken pox, which is a very contagious disease. 
A treatment which has been successful consists in bathing the sores 
with strong salt and water and giving the fowls a mash containing 
one teaspoonful of calcium sulphide for each 25 hens. With a large 
flock of hens the method successfully employed bv one of the large 
coast ranches in stamping out an epidemic of the disease was to place 
a sulphur smudge, to which had been added a little carbolic acid, in 
the poultry house after the fowls had gone to roost. This was allowed 
to remain till the fowls began to sneeze, when it was instantly re- 
moved. The affected fowls were also treated by dipping the heads in 
a solution of permanganate of potash. 

Roup in Turkeys. 

My turkeys have a disease that is spreading rapidly. They commence 
with a running at the nose, have swelling under the eyes which are filled 
with pus. 

This is clearly a case of cold developing into roup. Get one 
ounce of permanganate of potash and pour a quart of boiling water 
over; after it is cold, bottle for use. Now take an old tin can, three 
parts full of warm, not hot water, and drop in enough of the per- 
manganate of potash to make it dark red. Hold the turk's head under 
in this can until it needs breath then give it time to breathe, and dip 
again. Press the fingers along the swollen parts towards the nostrils 
and get out all the pus you can, then take a sewing-machine oil can 
and fill it with a little of the mixture, and part olive oil, inject the 
liquid up the nostrils and in the cleft of the mouth. Put a little of 
the permanganate in the drinking water for all the flock. Make the 
water a light red, later it will turn to a dirty brown, but don't mind 
that. 

Disinfectants. 

What can I use to disinfect poultry belongings? 

Sulphuric acid spray is good, but you will need to be very care- 
ful that you do not get it on the hands or clothing. Get 16 ounces 
sulphuric acid (50 per cent solution), water 6 gallons. Have the water 
in a wooden tub or barrel and add the sulphuric acid to the water 
very slowly, in order not to splash it on the flesh or clothes. But 



242 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

mind: nothing but wooden vessels to mix it in. Wlien made accord- 
ing to directions, and of this strength it is a very valuable disinfectant, 
but is dangerous to use of any stronger mixing. After mixing, 
it can be stored in glass bottles or earthenware jugs. Another 
very good disinfectant for poultry houses and runs is the formalde- 
hyde disinfectant. Formaldehyde 1 pint (40 per cent), water 2 
gallons. This is fine for houses that you can shut up. Turn the 
fowls out of the building, close all windows, and spray thoroughly, 
then close the door and leave it do the work. Air well by opening 
windows and door several hours before the fowls go to roost. 

Cloth for Brooding Houses. 

Would some good grade of white cloth on a frame do as zuell, or 
would it be better than glass, for a brooder house, or would it keep 
out too much sun-heat? 

Cheesecloth, not heavy cloth, would be better than glass, so 
far as the sun is concerned. There would be none of the over- 
heating during the middle of the day followed by the chilling at 
night which are caused by a large expanse of glass. On the other 
hand, there should not be openings on opposite sides of the house 
to create a draft. Also, the rat and vermin question must be con- 
sidered. It might be necessary to have wire screens made to fit 
firmly over the cloth at night. 

Grains for Chickens. 

What variety of grain adapted for poultry food zvill be the best to 
grow, ■with and also without irrigation? 

Wheat is a standard grain for poultry feeding, and Egyptian 
corn is also largely used. Indian corn is also satisfactory, under 
the general rules for compounding poultry rations which are laid 
down by all authorities on the subject. Egyptian corn is very suc- 
cessful in the interior parts of the State, and, on lands which are 
winter-plowed and harrow to retain moisture, very satisfactory re- 
sults can be secured by summer growth without irrigation from 
planting as soon as frost danger is over. 

Plucking Ducks and Geese. 

/ zvould like to know about hozv, zvhen and how often to pick old 
ducks so as to get the feathers for piUozvs and not kill the ducks, either. 
Will they lay any eggs while grozviiig new feathers? 

Neither ducks nor geese should be plucked until after the lay- 
ing season is over, which will be in July. Just before the moult, 
when the feathers begin to loosen, they may be plucked again. 
Those most considerate of their birds make only this latter pluck- 
ing, which does not greatly inconvenience the fowls. At no time 
must they be plucked unless the feathers are "ripe"; that is, dry 
at the root, so that no bleeding or injury to the skin is caused. An 



Poultry Keeping 243 

old stocking is drawn over the head of the victim, and the bird 
held in the plucker's lap on a burlap apron; then the soft feathers 
on the body are quickly and very gently removed; but those on 
the side of the body which support the wings should not be taken. 
Great care should be exercised not to injure the skin or pinfeathers 
or pull the down. To grow new feathers quickly and resume laying 
are matters which depend largely upon the condition of the bird 
and the feed. The latter should consist of some 15 per cent of 
animal food. 

Feeding Hens for Hatching Eggs. 

Should soft feed be given to the mothers of chicks intended for 
broilers f Hoiv about dry mash? How would you advise feeding animal 
protein? 

Cut out all ground feed, except perhaps a little wheat bran. 
While you may not get quite as many eggs, they will all have good 
strong germs and the chicks will stand forcing to the limit, while 
if you force the egg output you reduce the vitality of the germs 
and livability of chicks hatched. The only way to feed hens whose 
eggs are intended for hatching chicks for broilers is to feed whole 
grain and make them exercise for it, good green feed, or, better 
still, sprouted oats, and feed beef scrap in a hopper all the time. 
At first, while it is new, they may eat more than you would give 
them but don't mind that they will regulate the quantity in a few 
days better than you can. Get a good grade of beef scrap and keep 
it in a hopper that will not let rain in or keep it under cover and 
feed all the wheat and oats they require; if you are short on green 
feed give them a bale of alfalfa hay to work on. 

A Dry Mash. 

Will you give a formula for a dry mash? 

Wheat bran, 500 pounds; middlings, 200 pounds; cracked corn, 
200 pounds; charcoal, 20 pounds; alfalfa meal 200 pounds; bone meal, 
150 pounds; blood-meal lOO pounds; meat cracklings, if ground, 200 
pounds; ground oats or barley, 300 pounds. Give oyster shell separ- 
ately and supply fowls with good sharp grit. 

Depluming Mites. 

My chickens are losing the feathers from their necks, some three 
inches down the front and then extending around the neck. 

The loss of feathers is probably due to the depluming mite. 
Dust well with buhach through the feathered portion of the bird 
and apply carbolated vaseline to the bare skin and the edges of the 
feathers where the insects work. Do this daily as long as needed. 
When vaseline is not on hand, a mixture of coal oil and sweet oil 
applied with a soft sponge squeezed nearly 6x:y does as well. We 
would advise that you make a general cleaning and spraying of your 
poultry quarters, nest boxes, etc. 



PART IX. PESTS AND DISEASES 
OF PLANTS 

Control of Grasshoppers. 

This county is having trouble with the grasshoppers as are other 
counties. Would you kindly inform me what I could do to exterminate 
them OH my young orchard? 

The best thing for grasshoppers is to fix up a lot of poison. 
This is made in the proportion of 40 pounds of bran, 2 pounds of 
molasses and 5 of arsenic, mixed together as a mash. They will 
take this wherever they find it, even when nice green leaves are 
close by, but it has to be kept moist. Grasshoppers can also be 
reduced by driving a "hopper doser" over ground where they are. 
This is made somewhat like a Fresno scraper, but is much longer 
and the bottom is covered with crude oil. When disturbed the 
hoppers jump up and fall into the oil. Besides the poison, you 
should also protect the trunk of the tree to prevent the hoppers 
from climbing up it. This can be done by applying tree tanglefoot, 
or putting on one of the tree guards that prevent climbing insects 
from passing up to the leaves. The combination of poison and tree 
guards will give you about all the protection you need. 

Sunburn and Borers. 

Please state the best roiicdy for keeping the borer out of young 
fruit trees. 

Sunburn can be prevented in many ways. The manufactured 
tree-protectors are good if they are light colored and are kept in 
place so that the sun does not scald above or below them. Wrapping 
spirally with narrow strips of burlap, torn from old grain sacks, 
from the base to the forking of the branches, is also good. A very 
effective and widely used method is to apply a good durable white- 
wash which may be made of 30 pounds of lime, 4 pounds of tallow 
and 5 pounds of salt, adding the salt to the water used in slaking 
the lime, stirring in the tallow while the slaking is in progress and 
hot, and then adding water to thin the wash so that it will work 
well with pump or brush. 

Gumming of Prune Trees, 

/ icrite to ask for information concerning my prune trees. They are 
from tzvo to six years old and the gum is exuding from them. As I 
notice the branches dying I cut them out, but this doesn't seem to save 
the tree. I zvould appreciate any information you can give me. 

This is a pretty hard matter to diagnose from a distance. There 
is a good probability that the trouble is caused by sunburn, a point 
you could determine on inspection. Whitewash would be a protec- 



Pests and Diseases of Plants 245 

tion against this and more or less of a cure also. Furthermore, 
borers may be the cause, which can be determined by examining 
the points where the gum exudes, seeing if any wood grains are 
present. These borers should be dug out and whitewash applied, 
which latter also protects against this trouble. Lastly, your ground 
may be drying out, which also you can determine and remedy. 

Borers in Olive Twigs. 

There are quite a number of olive trees in this locality that have 
something wrong zvith them. They make a growth of Ave or six inches 
and the center twig dies back, then it sprouts out at the sides and makes 
another growth in the same zvay. This makes a thick bush instead of 
the tree coming up as it should. 

The dying back is caused by a beetle which bores into the twigs. 
The twigs above the point where the beetle enters dies and then, 
of course, buds come out from healthy wood below. No treatment 
has been devised against it, though its breeding ground is limited 
if all dead wood and brush and litter is cleaned up and twigs are 
cut off below the point of injury whenever the work of the insect 
is seen. 

Raspberry Cane Borer. 

Can you tell me zvhat to do for my Loganberries and raspberries? 
A small worm got into them in the new growth of luood last summer, 
right in the tips of the nezv growth of wood, arid then worked down 
through the pith of the zvood, and as fast as they worked down the 
can zidlted. 

This is the raspberry horn-tail, or the cane-borer. The adults 
are wasp-like insects about a half-inch long and very active. They 
come out of the canes in spring and the females soon lay eggs in 
the tender tips of the young shoots. These eggs soon hatch and 
the larvae eat their way up toward the tip, which causes it to wither 
and die. It is this injury that causes much notice. As the tip dies, 
the larvae turn and go down into the canes, as in the sample sent, 
also injuring them greatly, though possibly not killing them for 
some time. The only way to attack them is to pinch the spots where 
the eggs were laid; then those that escape and cause the tips to 
wilt should be destroyed by cutting oiif the tips below the point of 
injury or cutting ofif the canes when they show damage. Likewise, 
the insects work on the wild rose, and cutting all those out around 
a place will prevent enough adults from developing to permit little 
damage to be done, alwa3's provided the berries are well looked 
after. 

Control of Red Spider. 

Can you give directions for the prevention of injury by the red spider 
to almond and other trees in the Sacramento valley? 

The red spider on almond and prune trees is usually controlled 
by the thorough application of drj^ sulphur to the foliage. On 
almonds the first sulphuring should be done as soon as the leaves 



246 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

appear in March. A second application is advised from the 1st to 
the 10th of May. A third application should be made from the 1st 
to the 10th of June. Prune trees should be treated as soon as the 
spider appears. In the Sacramento valley this usually occurs about 
the first week of July. Full-grown trees require about a pound of 
sulphur which should be thoroughly distributed throughout the 
foliage. The old method of throwing a handful of sulphur in the 
branches of the tree or on the ground under the tree is valueless. 
The use of a blower is economical in large orchards, but a can v/ith 
perforated bottom is frequently used on young trees or small orchards 
with good results. In normal seasons the spider is easily contolled 
by dry sulphuring. When the pest does not yield to this treatment, 
a spray is recommended. 

Liquid Spray for Red Spider. 

Is there any liquid spray I can use in my spraying that zvill kill the 
red spider without injuring the foliage of the almond? 

A liquid spray for red spider is made by taking sulphur 30 pounds; 
lime (reduced to milk form by water), 15 pounds; water, 200 gallons; 
or use commercial lime-sulphur, 4 or 5 gallons to 200 gallons of 
water. These sprays can be applied without injuring the foliage. 
They are more expensive in labor cost than dry sulphuring, but are 
more effective. 

Apple-Leaf Aphis. 

/ am sending herctvith a small piece from one of my young apple 
trees. If you can, zuill you kindly tell me ivhat the insects are on it, 
and what I had better do for them? 

The apple twig which you send is infested with the eggs of the 
leaf aphis or leaf louse. These eggs are very difficult to kill. A good 
thorough spraying with lime-sulphur might, however, get rid of many 
of them and would be good for the trees otherwise — diluting according 
to condition of tree growth. The chief campaign against the leaf aphis, 
however, must be made early in the growing season, just as these pests 
are beginning to hatch out and to accumulate under the laves of the 
new growth. They should then be attacked with properly made kerosene 
emulsion or tobacco extract with a nozzle suited to land the spray on 
the under side of the leaves. Unless these pests are attacked early in 
the season and repeated if necessary, your apples on bearing trees will 
be ruined so far as they attack them, being small, misshaped and worth- 
less. On young trees the destruction of the foliage is fatal to good 
growth. 

Woolly Aphis. 

Will you kindly inform me what you consider the best treatment 
for apple trees affected by woolly aphis? 

The best way to kill the woolly aphis on the roots is to remove 
the earth from around the tree to a distance of one or two feet, accord- 
ing to the size of the tree, digging away a few inches of the surface soil, 
Then soak the soil around the tree with kerosene emulsion, properly 



Pests and Diseases of Plants 247 

made, of 15 per cent strength, and replace the earth. Be sure you get 
a good emulsion, for free oil is dangerous. For the insects above ground 
on the twigs, a good spraying while the tree is out of leaf will kill 
many, but some will survive for summer spraying, and for this a tobacco 
spray may be most convenient. 

Blister Mite on Walnuts. 

/ am sending you some zvahmt leaves zvith some swellings on them. 
They are very plentiful on some trees here. Is the trouble serious and 
will it spread f 

This is merely Erinose, or Blister Mite, which is a very common 
trouble on walnuts, but does not do enough damage to call for methods 
of control. These swellings are caused by numerous, very small insects 
which live within the blisters on the under side of the leaf amongst a 
felt-like, heavy growth which develops there. While this effect is very 
common, it produces no appreciable injury and needs no treatment for 
its control. 

Scale on Apricots. 

/ would like to know how to check the scale on apricot trees. 

The most common scale on apricots, the brown apricot scale, is 
usually held in check by the comys fusca, which is as widely distributed 
as the scale itself. If it gets beyond the parasite, you should spray in 
winter with crude oil emulsion. If some scales are punctured or have 
a black spot on top, the comys fusca is busy and you probably will be 
safe enough without doing anything. 

Fumigating for Black Scale. 

/ would like to know the best method of eradicating the black scale 
from my orange frees, whether by spraying or fumigation? 

Spraying has been given up as a suitable method for controlling the 
black scale on citrus trees, and the only recognized method of merit where 
the scale is bad is by fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas. You should 
communicate with your county horticultural commissioner, who, through 
inspectors, will see that you have a good job done, at the right time 
and at as moderate price as is compatible with good work. It is im- 
possible to 'eradicate' the black scale, but there is a great difference in 
the amount that can be killed, and it pays to have a job done as near 
perfectly as possible. Similar methods of attacking other scale insects 
on citrus trees are used. 

Finding Thrips. 

Hoiv can the presence of pear thrips be detected in a prune orchard? 
Will the distillate emulsion-nicotine spray control brozvn scale as well 
as thrips? 

You can find thrips by shaking a cluster of blossoms, as soon as they 
open, over a sheet of paper or in the palm of your hand. The thrips are 
very minute, transparent, somewhat louse-like insects. The spray you 
mention would probably have little effect on the brown scale which would 



248 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

still be in the egg state and under cover, at the time the early spring spray- 
ing for the thrips. 

Control of Pear Slug. 

/ am sending, under separate cover, some samples of cherry tree 
leaves that have been attacked by a small snail or slug. Kindly let me 
know what they are, and hozv to rid the trees of them. 

The creatures you speak of are the pear slugs, or the cherry slugs, 
as they are sometimes known. Although slimy, like the big yellow slug 
that is a pest in vegetable gardens, it is no relation thereto, but is the 
larva of an insect. Its olive green color, slimy appearance and the way 
it eats the surface of the leaves make it about the easiest of all insects 
to identify. Parasites and predacious insects usually keep it in fair con- 
trol. Whenever artificial methods of control are needed the slugs can 
best be destroyed by sprinkling dust of any kind upon them. If you can 
get a machine for sulphuring a vineyard and use some air slaked lime 
or other fine dust, it will fix them quickly and inexpensively, though any 
way of applying dust may be used. 

Cutworms and Young Trees. 

What method should be used to protect young fruit trees from 
cutworms F 

Hoe around the trees or vines and kill the fat, greasy grubs which 
you will find near the foliage. Put out a poisoned bait which the worms 
like better than the foliage, viz.: Bran, 10 pounds; white arsenic, ^ 
pound; molasses, J/2 gallon; water, 2 gallons. Mix the arsenic with the 
bran dry. Add the molasses to the water and mix into the bran, making 
a moist paste. Put a tablespoonful near the base of the tree or vine and 
lock up the chickens. 

Control of Squash Bugs. 

We are troubled zvith pumpkin bugs. Please tell us what to do for 
them. 

When the bugs first make their appearance in the field they can be 
easily disposed of by hand picking and dropping into a bucket containing 
about two inches of water with about one-fourth inch of kerosene on top 
to kill the bugs. The picking should be done in the morning, as the 
bugs are apt to fly in the warm part of the day and scatter where already 
picked. Two persons can pick over an acre in one and a half hours, and 
two pickings are usually sufficient for a season, as after the vines begin 
to run over the ground pretty well the bugs will not be able to hurt them 
much. A pair of thin old gloves will help to keep off one's hands 
some of the perfume from the bugs. The sooner the work starts 
the fewer bugs to pick. Cleaning up of all old vines in the fall and 
removing litter in which the mature bugs hide for the winter will 
permit less eggs to be laid in the spring and there will be fewer bugs 
to pick as a result. 

The Corn Worm, 

Last year all my ears of corn were infested zvith maggot, growing 
fat thereon. Can you help me scare them away? 



Pests and Diseases of Plants 249 

You have to do with the so-called corn worm which is very abun- 
dant in this State and one of the greatest pests to corn growing. It 
is the same insect which is known as the boll worm of the cotton in 
the Southern States. No satisfactory method of controlling this has 
been found, although a great deal of experimentation has been done. 
Nearly everything that could be thought of has been tried without 
very satisfactory results. A late planted corn has sometimes been 
free, for the insect is not in the laying stage then. If it were not 
for this insect the canning of corn would be an important industry 

in this State. ,, , 

Melon Lice. 

/ liavc in about four acres of zvatcrmclons, and there seem to be 
lice and a small gnat or fly, and also some small green bugs and white 
worms on the under part of the leaves, which seem to be stopping the 
growth of the vines, making them zvilt and die. They seem to be more 
in patches, although a fezv on all the vines. Can you please tell me what 
to do for them? 

Melon lice are very hard to catch up with after you have let them 
get a start. Spraying with oil emulsions, tobacco extracts, soap solu- 
tions, etc., will all kill the lice if you get it onto them with a good 
spray pump and suitable nozzles for reaching the under sides of 
the leaves. The gnats you speak of are the winged forms of the 
lice; the white worms may be eating the lice; the "small green bugs'' 
may be diabroticas. If you had started in lively as soon as you saw 
the first lice you could have destroyed them in the places where they 
started. Now your chance lies largely in the natural multiplication 
of ladybirds and the occurrence of hot winds which will burn up the 
lice. It is too late probably, to undertake spraying the whole field. 

Wire Worms. 

Is there any way to destroy or overcome the destructive zvork of 
the wirezvorm, which I find in some spots takes the lion's share of crops, 
such as beans, potatoes, onions, etc.? 

We do not know any easy way with wire worms. Nitrate of soda 
is believed to kill or repel them, but you have to be careful with it, 
for too much will either over-stimulate or kill the kill; about 
200 pounds per acre, well distributed, is the usual prescription for the 
good of the plants. Wire worms can probably be killed with carbon 
bisulphide, using a tablespoonful poured into holes about a foot deep, 
three or four feet apart. The vapor would permeate the soil and 
kill all ground insects, but the acre-cost of such treatment must be 
measured in its relation to the value of the crop. The most promising 
policy with wire worms is rotation of crops, starving them out with 
a grain or grass crop and not growing such crops as you mention 
continually on the same land. 

Bean Weevil. 

Hozv can I keep certain insects from getting into my dry beans? 1 
have finished picking the crop. Every year a little, short, stubby beetle 
gets in them before spring and makes them unfit for use. 



250 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 

You have to do with the bean weevil. The eggs are inserted by 
the insect while the beans are still green in the pods; subsequently 
the eggs hatch and the worm excavates the interior of the ripened 
beans. The beans can be protected after ripening by heating care- 
fully to 130° Fahrenheit, which will destroy the egg, or the larva if 
already hatched. Of course, this heating must be done cautiously 
and with the aid of a good thermometer for fear of destroying the 
germinating power. The work of the insect can also be stopped by 
putting the beans in a barrel or other close receptacle, with a saucer 
containing about an ounce of carbon bi-sulfid to vaporize. Be careful 
not to approach the vapor with a light. After treatment for one- 
half hour, the cover can be removed and the vapor will entirely dis- 
sipate. This is a safer treatment than the heating. Similar methods 
of control can be used on other pea and bean weevils. 

Slugs in Garden. 

Can you advise me how I can get rid of slugs in my garden? 

When barriers of lime, ashes, etc., are inefifective, traps consist- 
ing of pieces of board sacking and similar materials placed about the 
field prove inviting to the slugs. They collect under these and by 
going over the field in the early morning they may be put into a 
salt-water solution or otherwise destroyed. Arsenical sprays applied 
with an underspray nozzle to the lower surface of the leaves will 
help control the slugs. Poison bran mash consisting of 16 pounds 
of coarse bran, 2 quarts of cheap syrup, and enough warm water to 
make a coarse mash, is very good for cutworms and should be equally 
effective for slugs. It should be placed in small heaps about the* 
plants to be protected. Cabbage leaves dipped in grease drippings 
and placed about the fields also prove attractive bait for the slugs, 
which may then be collected there. If a person has a taste for 
poultry, the keeping of a few ducks may solve the slug problem with- 
out further bother. Cultivation or irrigation methods that give a 
dry surface most of the time also discourage these pests. 

Cause of Mottle Leaf. 

What is the cause and cure of mottle leaf of citrus trees? 

There are apparently a number of causes of this trouble, all more 
or less obscure and hard to overcome. It is generally thought that 
it is due to poor nutrition, whatever the reason for poor nutrition 
might be. The presence of a nematode or eel worm on the roots 
has found to be a cause of mottle leaf in many cases. Poor drainage, 
too sandy soil and a number of other things frequently cause it. 
Whatever the cause, no one good method of cure has been found. 

Potato Scab. 

/ think most of my potatoes will have some scab. Will you please 
tell me if my next crop zvoiild be apt to have scab, provided I got good 
clean seed and planted in the same ground? 



Pests and Diseases of Plants 251 

It seems demonstrated that a treatment of the seed will prac- 
tically insure against potato scab. One method is dipping the potatoes 
in a solution of corrosive sublimate. Dissolve one ounce in eight 
gallons of water and soak the seed potatoes in this solution for one 
and one-half hours before cutting. 

Gopher Poison. 

/ have some alfalfa, some hogs and some gophers, also some 
strychnine and carrots. If I put the strychnine on the carrots, and 
endeavor to poison the gophers, and the hogs get hold of the poison 
will it kill them?' 

You will find that hogs are liable to poison like any other animal, 
and the safest way to poison the gophers, while the hogs are run- 
ning in the field- is to bury the poisoned carrots very deeply in the 
gopher hole and then put a row of sticks or branches over the mouth 
of the hole so that the hogs cannot root around and get at the 
poisoned carrots. 

How to Make Bordeaux. 

Use copper sulphate (bluestone) 5 pounds; quick-lime (good stone 
lime), 6 pounds; water, 50 gallons. Put the bluestone in a sack and 
hang it so it will be suspended just under the surface of a barrel of 
water over night, or dissolve in hot water. Use one gallon of water 
to one pound of bluestone. Slake the lime in a separate barrel, using 
just enough water to make a smooth, clean, thin whitewash. Stir this 
vigorously. Use wooden vessels only. Fill the spray tank half full 
of water, add one gallon of bluestone solution for each pound re- 
quired, then strain in the lime and the remainder of the water and stir 
thoroughly. The formula may be varied according to conditions, 
using from 3 to 8 pounds of bluestone to 50 gallons of water and an 
equal or slight excess of lime. Use the stronger mixture in rainy 
weather. Keep the mixture constantly agitated while applying. 

Formula for Lime- Sulphur. 

To make lime-sulphur take quick-lime, 20 pounds; ground sulphur, 
15 pounds and water 30 gallons. Slake the lime with hot water in 
a large kettle, add the sulphur and stir well together. After the 
violent slaking subsides add more water and boil the mixture over a 
fire for at least one hour. After boiling sufficiently strain into the 
spray tank and dilute with water to the proper strength. If a steam 
boiler is available, this mixture may be prepared more easily on a 
large scale by cooking in barrels into which steam pipes are intro- 
duced. This mixture cannot be applied safely except during the 
winter when the trees are dormant. A large proportion of the lime- 
sulphur used in the State is purchased already prepared in more 
concentratd form. 



INDEX 



FRUIT GROWING. PaGE 

Almond — Grafting on Peach 31, 33 

Pruning 31 

Budding and Grafting 31, 32 

Planting 32 

Pollination 32, 34 

Roots for 32 

Longevity of 33 

Seedlings 33 

Do Not Plant in Place 33 

Stick-Tights 34 

And Peach 33 

Apples — Shy-Bearing 24 

Not on Quince 24 

Stock For 24 

And Alfalfa 25 

Top Grafting 25,27 

Mildew on Seedlings 25 

Pruning 25, 26, 27, 30 

Will They Be Same Kind 27 

Places for 27 

Grafting in Place 28 

Resistant Roots 28 

For Hot Place 28 

Die-Back of 29 

Storage of 29 

Root-Grafts 29 

Apricots — Pruning 34 

Shy-Bearing 34 

Propagation 35 

Renewing Old 35 

Summer Pruning 35 

Bananas in California 23 

Berries — Pruning Himalayas 70 

Hardiness of Hybrids 70 

With Perfect Flowers 70 

Pruning Loganberries 71 

Strawberry Planting 71 

Blackberries for Drying 71 

Planting Bush Fruits 72 

Strawberry Plants 72 

Strawberries in Succession 72 

Gooseberries, Limitations of 72 

Carobs in California 23 

Cherries — For Hot Place 28 

Wild 36 

Pruning 36, 37 

Training Grafts 36 

Restoring Trees 37, 38 

Pollination 38 

Citron Curing 58 

Citrus Fruit — Temperatures 5 

Broken Roots 18 

Filbert Growing 64 

Figs — Suckers 38 

No Gopher-Proof Roots 39 

Trays, Cleaning 23 



Page 

Fruit Ti-ees — Depth of Soil 5 

What Slopes 7 

and Overflow 8 

Roots for 5 

and Sunburn 9 

Budding 10 

Starting from Seed 10 

Square or Triangular Planting 11 

Planting on Clearings 12 

Dipping Roots of 12 

Preparing for Planting 12 

Depth of Planting 13 

In Wet Place 13 

Cutting Back at Planting 13 

Branching Young 13 

Coal Tar and Asphaltum 14 

Regular Bearing of 16 

Avoiding Crotches 17 

Crotch-Splitting 17 

Strengthening 17 

Covering Wounds 18 

Covering Sunburned Bark 18 

Gravel Streak 8 

Transplanting Old 20 

Dwarfing 20 

Seedling 20 

Filling Holes in 21 

Deferring Bloom 21 

Repairing Rabbit Injuries 21 

Crops Between IS 

Scions for Mailing 11 

Scions from Young Trees 16 

Whitewashing 14 

Deciduous Planting 9 

On Coast Sands 6 

Over Underflow 7 

Grapefruit and Nuts 61 

Grapes — Dry Farming 73 

Cutting Frosted Canes 73 

Dipping Seedless 73 

Zante Currant 73 

Vines for Arbor 74 

Pruning Old Vines 74 

Bleeding Vines 75 

Scant Moisture 75 

Sulphuring for Mildew 75 , 

Sugar in Canned 75 

Planting 18 

Grafting 20 

Wax IS 

June Drop 8 

Killing Moss on Tree 23 

Interplanting, Wrong idea 6 

Lemons — Citrus Budding 60 

No Citrus Fruits on Roots 60 

Mulberries, Pruning and Grafting 70 

Nursery Stock in Young Orchard 11 



Index 



253 



Page 

Orchard — Replanting 9 

Plowing in Young 15 

Pigs in 39 

Forage Under Sprayed Trees 41 

Oranges — Water and Frost 54 

Thinning 54 

Wind-Blown Trees 55 

Handling Balled Trees 55 

Navel Not Thornless 55 

Over-Size 55 

Budding or Grafting in Orchard, 56, 60, 61 

Under-Pruning Trees 56 

Keeping Trees too Low 5 7 

Dying Back of Trees 57 

Young Trees Dropping Fruit 5 7 

Training 58 

Crops Between Trees 58 

Navels and Valencias 59 

Seedlings 59 

Acres to One Man 59 

Roots for Trees 60 

Soil and Situation 62 

Transplanting 62 

Protecting Young Trees 62 

Not on Osage 62 

No Pollenizer for Navels 63 

Water and Frost 63 

Frosted, What to do 63 

Pruning Frosted Trees 63 

Pruning 64 

Olives — Cultivating 49 

Moving Old Trees 49 

Darkening Pickled 50 

Seedlings Must Be Grafted 50 

Oranges and Peppers SO 

Budding Seedlings 51, 54 

Old 51 

from Small Cuttings 51 

Large Cuttings 52 

Trimming Up 52 

Canning 52 

Renewing Trees 52 

Growing from Seed 53 

Neglected Trees 53 

Peaches — Lye-peeling 42 

Aged Trees 42 

Renewing Orchard 43 

Will He Have 43 

Fillers in Apple Orchard 44 

Grafting on Allnond 44 

on Apricot 44 

Replanting after Root Knot 44 

Buds in Bearing Trees 45 

Pollen Must Be Same Kind 45 

Grafting on 45 

Young Trees Fail to Start 46 

Planting in Alfalfa Sod 46 

Pecan Growing 64 

Pears — Pollination of Bartletts 39, 42 

Cornice 39 

Not on Peach 39 

Dwarf Pears 40 

Yield in Drying 40 

Problems 40 

Blight and Bees 41 

on Quince 41 



Page 

Plowing, Young Orchard 15 

Plums — Pollenizing 49 

Prunes — On Almond 46 

Re-grafting Silver 46 

French or Italian 47 

Myrobalan Seedlings 47 

Drying 47 

Sugar 48 

Glossing Dried 48 

Price on Size Basis 48 

Pruning — Times 15,17 

Shaping a Young Tree 14 

Late 16 

Too Much 18 

In Frosty Places 19 

Low Growth 19 

Are Tap-Roots Essential 19 

For a Bark Wound 22 

Bridging Gopher Girdles 22 

Roots, Whole or Piece 9 

Soil, Binding Plant for Winter 22 

Spineless Cactus Fruit 23 

Stumps, Medication to KiU 11 

Sucker, What will it Be 6 

Walnuts — Early Bearing 64 

Handling Seedlings 65, 66 

How to Start 65 

Planting 65 

Pruning 65, 66 

Grafting 66 

on Oaks 66 

Eastern or California Blacks 67 

Ripening 67 

Cutting Below Dead Wood 67 

in Alfalfa 68 

in the Hills 68 

Increase Bearing 68 

Temperature and Moisture 69 

from Seed 69 

High-grafted 69 



VEGETABLE GROWING. 

Artichokes — Jerusalem 77 

Globe 77 

Growing 78 

Asparagus Growing 78 

Beets — Leases for Sugar 82 

Topping Mangel Wurzels S3 

Brussels Sprouts — Blooming 83 

Bean — Growing 78, 79 

Hoeing 79 

as Nitrogen Gatherer 79 

Yard-Long 79 

Why Waiting 80 

Blackeye 80 

Are Cow-Peas 80 

Horse-Bean Growing 80 

Growing Castor 81 

Inoculation 81 

On Irrigated Mesas 82 

California Grown Seed 76 

Cloth for Hotbeds 76 

Celery, Blanching 83 

Chili Peppers 88 



254 



Index 



Page 

Corn — in Sacramento Valley 83 

in Warm Ground 84 

Sweet, in California 84 

Cucumbers — Forcing 84 

Growing 84 

Continuous Cropping 100 

Ginger in California 85 

In Cold. Dark, Draft 77 

Licorice in California 85 

Lentils, Growing 86 

Lettuce, Transplanting 86 

Melons — Winter 87 

Ripe 87 

Onions — Seeds and Sets 87 

Ripening 87 

from Sets 87 

Crops from Seed 88 

Peas — Canada for Seed 86 

Growing Niles 86 

Peanuts — Harvesting 88 

and Adobe 89 

Potatoes — Cutting 89 

Planting 89,90,92 

Northern Seed 90 

Planted Early 90 

Balls 90 

Seed-ends 91 

and the Moon 91 

Planting Whole 91 

How to Cut Seed 91, 92 

Scab 92 

Double-cropping 92 

Keeping 93 

Yield 93 

New for Seed 94 

Growing 94, 97 

After Alfalfa 94 

Flat or Hill 94 

Bad Coi.ditior s icT 95 

(,'n rl'-avy Land 95 

Storage for Seed 95 

and Frosts 96 

Sweet, Plant Growing 96 

Growing 97 

Between Trees 98 

Less Water, More Heat 100 

Radish, Giant Japanese 98 

Rhubarb, Rotting 98 

Soil for Vegetables 76 

Squashes Dislike Hardship 99 

Sifnflowers, Harvesting 99 

Tomatoes — Irrigating 99 

Big Worms 100 

Loss of Bloom 101 

GRAIN AND FORAGE CROPS- 

Alfalfa — Improving Land 110, 121 

Cultivating 110 

Suburban Patch Ill 

and Bermuda Ill 

and Salt Grass 112 

and Alkali 118 

on Adobe 118 

and Soil Depth 118 

Irrigating 122 

Curing 119 



Page 

Preparation of Land 119 

Where Grown 120 

Sowing 120, 121 

and Foxtail 120 

Which is Best 120 

and Dry Land 121 

Inoculating 122 

Unirrigated 122 

Time to Cut 124 

and Overflow 123 

No Nurse Crop 123 

Re-seeding 123 

Taking Bloat from 123 

What Crop for Seed 124 

Siloing First Crop 125 

Soil For 125 

Handling Young 125 

With Gypsum 126 

Alfileria, Winter Pasture 117 

Barley — California Varieties IO3 

Chevalier IO4 

on Moist Land IO4 

and Alfalfa IO4 

Beet Sugar, Home-made 136 

Beets and Potatoes IO5 

for Stock IO5 

Stock, Summer Start 10s 

Berseem 138 

Bermuda Grasis Ill 

Objectionable lis 

Black Medic 116 

Broom Corn 131 

Buckwheat Growing 134 

Clover and Drought 113 

for Wet Lands 113 

Crimson 116 

for Shallow Land 126 

for High Ground-Water 126 

Not an Alfalfa 130 

Sweet, Cover Crop 130 

Corn — for Silage 105 

Irrigation for 106 

Eastern Seed 106 

Suckering 106 

and Cow Peas 107 

Cover Crop for Hop Yard 127 

Cow Peas in San Joaquin 128 

Cowpeas — Growing 128 

and Canadian Peas 128, 129 

Crop Rotation 138 

Dry Plowing for Grain 103 

Fall Feed 109 

Forage Plants in Foothills 114 

Winter 114 

Poultry 135 

Flax, New Zealand 136 

Grasses, for Bank-holding 117 

Grass Seeds, Scattering 135 

Hay — Midsumm.er Sowing 107 

Loose by Measure 107 

Oat, When to Cut 108 

Rye for 108 

Frosted Grain 113 

Summer Crop 114 

Heating and Fermentation 138 

Insect Powder 137 



Index 



255 



Page 

Johnson Grass 110 

Jersey Kale 129 

Kafir and Egyptian Com 133 

Lawns, Mossy 135 

Moonshine Farming 139 

Oats and Rust 107 

Pasturing — Young Grain 102 

Hurry-up 110 

California Winter 116 

Rape and Milo 130 

Rye in California 108 

Rye — Grass, Italian 109 

better than 115 

Speltz 109 

Spurry, Giant 112 

Soil Light, Scant Moisture 112 

Sunflowers and Soy Beans 129 

Russian 134 

Spineless Cactus 131 

Sorghum — Smutty 132 

Late Sown 132 

Sorghums for Seed 133 

for Planting 133 

Sacaline 134 

Special Crops 137 

Teosinte 115 

Vetches — for San Joaquin 126 

for Hay 127 

Wheat, Seven-headed lOS 

SOILS, FERTILIZING AND IRRIGATION. 

Alkali Soil and Trees 146 

Treatment of 153 

and Gypsum 153, 154 

Distribution 153 

Plants Will Tell 154 

and Litmus 1S4 

Alfalfa over Hardpan 148 

Ashes and Tomatoes 157 

in Garden 159, 160 

and Poultry Manure 161 

Blasting or Tiling 155 

Effects of 155 

Barnyard Manure and Alkali 163 

Bones for Grape Vines 167 

Can a Man Farm 140 

Charcoal, Medicine, not Food 175 

Cover Crop, Best Legume 176 

Cowpeas, best cover crop 177 

Cementing Soils, Improvement ....173 

Cultivation, Depth of 147 

Draining Wet Spot 188 

Dry Plowing 144 

Treatment 144 

and Sowing 152 

Dynamite, More Needed 149 

Electro-Agriculture 147 

Fenugreek as Cover Crop 178 

Fertilizer in Tree Holes 157 

Best for Sand 157 

Prunjngs as 158 

Suburban Wastes 162 

Composting Garden Wastes 162 

for Sweet Potatoes 166 



Page 

Pear Orchard 167 

Olives 167, 168 

Consult Trees 168 

Nursery 168 

Almond Hulls and Sawdust 169 

Fruit Trees 169 

Oranges 170 

Seed Farm Refuse 170 

Slow Stuff 171 

Alfalfa 171 

Corn 172 

Scrap Iron 172 

Kelp as 172 

Nitrate of Soda 174 

Strawberries 174 

Ground Water 142 

Gypsum on Grain Land 158 

and Alfalfa 158 

What it Does 159 

How Much 159 

Garden Peas for Green Manure. ... 177 

Grape Pomace, Handling 165 

Abuse of 166 

Hardpan and Low Water 147 

Humus Burning Out 175 

Straw for 176 

Irrigating Palms 180 

Condensation for 181 

Winter 181 

Young Trees 184 

Alfalfa 186 

How Much for Crops 186 

Sewage 187 

Creamery Wastes 187 

House Waste 1 S8 

Intensive Cultivation 140 

Irrigate or Cultivate 181 

Irrigation, Underground 184 

of Potatoes 185 

of Apples 185 

of Walnuts 185 

Summer and Fall 185 

and Fertilizers 186 

Liming Chicken Yard 160 

Legumes, Two in Year 179 

Lime, Caustic not Absorbent 161 

on Sandy Soil 171 

Alfalfa 171 

Sugar Factory Fertilizer 173 

Manure, Water, Cultivation 145 

Ashes 156 

Poultry 160 

too Much 161 

Stable and Bean Straw 163 

Pit Roofing 163 

Value of Animals 164 

Fresh and Dry 164 

and Shavings 164 

Sheep, and Goat 165 

Hog and Potatoes 165 

Vineyard 166 

and Nitrate 173 

with Clover 177 

Nitrate, Late Applications of 174 



256 



Index 



Page 

Oranges Over Ground Water 141 

Organic Matter, Needs 178 

Oranges, How Much Water 182 

Damping Oflf 182 

Planting in Mud 146 

Potash or Water 157 

Reviving Blighted Trees 167 

Soils and Oranges 141 

Crop Changes 143 

Moisture Defects 143 

Refractory 145 

Suitable for Fruits 148 

Blowing 149 

Improving Heavy 150 

Reclaimed Swamp ISO 

Improving Uncovered 151 

Sand for Clay 151 

Sour 156 

and Old Plaster 156 

Handling Orchard 1 79 

Depth for Citrus 141 

Summer Fallow 142, 143 

Subsoil, Plow for 155 

Stable Drainage for Fruit 170 

Seeds, Soaking 180 

Trees over High-water 148 

Plowing toward or from 151 

Irrigated or not 183 

Too Much Water 183 

Too Little Water 183 

Thomas Phosphate, Applying 173 

Water, Artesian 152 

from Wells or Streams 180 



LIVl STOCK AND DAISY. 

Buttermilk Paint 196 

Butter Going White 190 

Fat, What it is 190 

Why not Come 191 

Fat in Cream 191 

Breeding, Young Mare 193 

in Purple 194 

Line 194 

Cream That Won't Whip 193 

Cows in Hill Country 194 

Concrete Stable Floor 197 

Drying Persistent Milker 191 

Foot-hill Dairy 194 

Free Martin 193 

Grade, What it is 193 

Granary, Rat-proof 197 

Hogs, Best Breed 197 

Jersey, Short-horn Cross 197 

Bad Tempered 194 

Legal Milk House 189 

Milk, Strong 189 

Separator as Purifier 190 

Certified 192 

Self-Milker, Cure for 189 

Silos, Heating not Dangerous 197 

Shingles. Make Durable 197 

Trespassing Live Stock 197 



Page 

Whitewashes for Buildings 195 

Government 196 

for Spray 195 

FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 

Alfalfa and Concentrates 202 

Barley, Rolled for Cows 207 

for Hay Feeding 200 

Brewers' Grains for Cows 207 

Balanced Rations 205 

Corn Stalks and Concentrates 201 

Cut for Silage 205 

Calves, Feeding 204 

Feed for Cows 2O0 

Family Cow 207 

Young Pigs 209 

Grape Pomace as Hog Feed 209 

Grain for Horses 203 

Horses, Vetch for 199 

Horse Beans and Melons 208, 209 

Hay, Salting 200 

Chopping for Horses 203 

Cut Alfalfa 203 

Storing Cut Alfalfa 203 

Grinding 204 

Kale for Cow Feed 208 

Plow Horses, Feed for 199 

Pumpkins, Feeding 207 

Keeping 209 

Pasture and Cover Crop 205 

Fall and Winter 205 

Summer for Hogs 206 

Pigs and Pie-Melons 209 

Grain or Pasture for 210 

Growing on Roots 210 

Sheep, Winter Feeding 204 

Sorghum, Feeding 199 

Silage 200 

Dry Fodder 202 

Sugar Beets and Silage 201 

Stover 200 

Stock Beets, Storing 208 

Kind of 208 

Spelt, Value of 201 

Steers on Alfalfa 202 

Silo. Size of 206 

Soiling Crops 206 

Wheat or Barley for Hogs 210 

for Feeding 211 

DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 

Abscess of Gland 212. 219 

Abnormal Thirst 214 

Bloat, Easement 213 

Bowel Trouble 214 

Bloody Milk 220 

Barren Heifers 223 

Blind Teat 225 

Bovine Rheumatism 226 

Bleeding for Blackleg 226 

Chronic Indigestion 215, 217 

Castration of Colt 216 

Chronic Cough 2 1 7 



Index 



257 



Page 

Cowpox 225 

Calf Dysentery 226 

Cleft Hoof 218 

Cocked Ankles 220 

Cleanse Cows 221 

Caked Bag 221 

Cow Chewing Bones 223 

Depraved Appetite 215,227 

Dentist Needed 215 

Dehorning 220 

Forage Poisoning 212 

Fungus Poisoning 218 

Fly Repellants 232 

Flea Destroyers 232 

Garget 221 

Gland Enlarged 222 

Heaves 217 

Horse with Itch 214 

Horses Feet, Treatment 218 

Hog Cholera 229 

Hog Sickness 229 

Infectious Mastitis 221 

Irritation of Udder 222,224 

Injury to Udder 225 

Kidney Trouble 215, 216 

Lumpy Jaw 222 

Lumps in Teat 224 

Loss of Cud 226 

Mange, Is it 214 

Mangy Cow 221 

Mustv Corn for Pigs 231 

Nail Puncture 218 

Neck Swelling 223 

Pregnancy of Mare 219 

Paralysis 220 

Pneumonia in Pigs 229 

Paralysis of Sow 230 

Rickets in Hogs 230 

Scabby Swelling 213 

Skin Disease, Fatal 213 

Scours 215 

Side-bone 217 

Shoulder Injury 213 

Stiff Joints 218 

Swelling in Dewlap 223 

Sterile Cow 223 

Supernumerary Teat 224 

Sore Eyes 228 

in Pigs 228 

Sow, Over-fat 231 

Tuberculous Milk 228 

Uterus, Diseased 219 

Urination Defective 227 

Warts on Horse 216 

Worms in Horsea 213 



Page 

Wound, Sore 216 

in Teat 225 

Swellings 231 

POULTRY KEEPING. 

Bowel Trouble in Chicks 236 

Cure for Feather-Eating 235 

Cannibal Chicks 235 

Caponizing 237 

Chicken Pox 241 

Clipping Hens 236 

Dipping Fowls 234 

Disinfectants 241 

Dry Mash 243 

Feeding for Eggs 243 

Grain for Chickens 242 

Liver Disease 233 

Limber Neck 240 

Melons for Fowls 234 

Open Front Houses 239 

Roup Treatment 238 

in Turkeys ^4i 

Quick Roosters and Laying Hens.. 236 

Preserving Eggs 234 

Poultry Tonic 237 

in Orchard 237 

Point on Mating 239 

Poultry Diarrhea 240 

Rupture of Oviduct 234 

Rape for Chickens 234 

Sunflower Seeds for Chicks 235 

Teaching Chicks to Perch 233 

PESTS AND DISEASES OF PLANTS. 

Apple- Leaf Aphis 246 

Bordeaux Mixture 251 

Bean Weevil 249 

Borers on Olive Twigs 245 

Blister Mite on Walnuts 247 

Black Scale, Fumigation 247 

Cutworms in Young Trees 248 

Control of Pear Slug 248 

of Grasshoppers 244 

of Red Spider 245 

of Squash Bugs 248 

Corn Worm 248 

Gumming Prune Trees !.244 

Gopher Poison 251 

Lime-Sulphate Formula !251 

Melon Lice 249 

Mottle Leaf, Cause of 250 

Potato Scab 250 

Raspberry Cane Borer 245 

Sunburn and Borers 244 

Scale on Apricots 247 

Spray for Red Spider 246 

Slugs in Garden 250 

Thrips, Finding 248 

Wooly Aphis 246 

Wire Worms '249 



